(Argus, 20.Sep.2019) — A fire overnight disrupted limited operations at the 635,000 b/d Amuay oil refinery, the only one of Venezuelan state-owned PdV’s domestic crude-processing plants that has been functioning in recent months. The fire broke out shortly after lightning strikes that were blamed for causing a blackout on the […]
Category: Venezuela
Venezuela energy
CNPC Skips Venezuelan oil Loading For Second Month
(Reuters, Chen Aizhu, 10.Sep.2019) — China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), a leading buyer of Venezuelan oil, will skip cargo loadings for a second month in September as the state oil giant looks to avoid breaching U.S. sanctions, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. CNPC made a surprise halt […]
Rosneft Issues Statement On Venezuela
(Rosneft, 10.Sep.2019) — In connection with statements by US special envoy Elliott Abrams, Rosneft reaffirms its position regarding the Company’s operations in Venezuela. Rosneft is an investor in the oil and gas sector of Venezuela and has been such long before the introduction of US sanctions against Venezuela. Accordingly, any […]
Bolton Exit Shifts Oil Market Outlook
(Bloomberg, Lucia Kassai and David Wethe, 10.Sep.2019) — The firing of U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton gave oil markets some near-term supply comfort, while analysts were divided on whether the move will lead to a longer term softening in U.S. foreign policy toward Iran and Venezuela. Brent crude oil […]
Live At State With Elliott Abrams
(US Treasury, 10.Sep.2019) — U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams discussed issues related to Venezuela during a Live At State from Washington, D.C. MODERATOR: Hello. I’m Vanessa Acker, the Deputy Director of the Brussels Media Hub, and I would like to welcome participants to today’s interactive online press briefing, […]
Maduro Targets Guaido Over Guyana
(Argus, 6.Sep.2019) — Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro ordered state prosecutors to lodge treason charges against opposition leader Juan Guaido for allegedly agreeing to relinquish Venezuela’s century-old territorial claim to the Essequibo region of neighboring Guyana. Maduro’s order, which was swiftly followed up by the announcement of an investigation by attorney […]
PdV Clings To Sliver Of Oil Refining Capacity
(Argus, 6.Sep.2019) — Venezuela’s national oil company PdV has lost almost all capacity to refine crude, with only a sliver of the 635,000 b/d Amuay plant currently in operation, according to internal company reports seen by Argus. At the end of August, Amuay was processing 120,000 b/d or about 9pc […]
S&P Removes Citgo From Credit Watch
(Citgo, 5.Sep.2019) — Standard & Poor’s (S&P), a leading credit rating agency, has removed Citgo Holding, Inc. and Citgo Petroleum Corporation’s outlook from credit watch and has placed them on a stable outlook. While S&P has reaffirmed its long-term issuer credit rating on both entities at B-; it also announced […]
Venezuelan Oil Exports At Lowest Level In 2019
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, Mircely Guanipa, 3.Sep.2019) — Venezuela’s oil exports fell in August to their lowest level in 2019, internal reports and Refinitiv Eikon data showed, hurt by a halt in purchases by the nation’s second largest customer, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), following tougher U.S. sanctions. Overall exports of […]
LatAmNRG briefs: Liza Destiny, Dos Bocas, PDVSA
HOUSTON, TEXAS (By Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 29.Aug.2019, Words: 327) — LatAmNRG briefs related to the Liza Destiny FPSO reaching Guyana, PDVSA investigating recent LPG plant explosion in Los Valles del Tuy, Dos Bocas Refinery conditioning work advancing in Mexico, and Ball Corporation signs a deal to divest its […]
Citgo Petroleum Announces 2Q:19 Results
(Citgo, 26.Aug.2019) — The Board of Directors of Citgo Petroleum Corporation is pleased to report significant progress on top company goals. Following its appointment in February 2019, the Citgo Board outlined three main objectives for the company: improving financial and operational stability; protecting assets; and enhancing corporate governance. After only […]
Citgo Profits Hit By Fallout From Split-CEO
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, 22.Aug.2019) — The two new top executives at Citgo Petroleum disclosed this week that net income in the second quarter slid to less than half its level a year earlier, hit by a broad slump for the refining industry as well as complications from U.S. sanctions on […]
China Stays Venezuela Course
(Argus, 20.Aug.2019) — The Chinese government is so far showing no sign of curtailing its oil ties to Venezuela, despite state-owned PetroChina’s rescheduling of Merey crude loadings in August. Argus has confirmed that state-owned PetroChina’s trading arm ChinaOil rescheduled up to seven VLCCs of heavy sour Merey in August that […]
New Caracas Blackout Compounds Energy Woes
(AP, 20.Aug.2019) — Parts of Venezuela’s capital and at least one state endured a power blackout on Tuesday lasting several hours, in an occurrence that has become commonplace in the crisis-stricken nation beset by energy woes. The power went out in a wide swath of Caracas during the early afternoon, […]
CNPC Suspends Venezuelan Oil Loading
(Reuters, Chen Aizhu and Marianna Parraga, 18.Aug.2019) — China National Petroleum Corp, a leading buyer of Venezuelan oil, has halted August loadings following the latest U.S. sanctions on the South American exporter, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. The Trump administration in early August […]
CNPC Backs Out Of Oil Purchases With Venezuela On Sanctions Scare
(Oilprice.com, Julianne Geiger, 16.Aug.2019) — Russia and China have stuck with Venezuela during its most recent time of need, but at least one of their loyalties may soon come to an end, according to anonymous sources who spoke to Bloomberg on Friday. CPNC’s PetroChina has canceled loading plans in August […]
OPEC Sees Bearish Oil Outlook For Rest Of 2019
(Reuters, Alex Lawler, 16.Aug.2019) — OPEC delivered a downbeat oil market outlook for the rest of 2019 on Friday as economic growth slows and highlighted challenges in 2020 as rivals pump more, building a case to keep up an OPEC-led pact to curb supply. In a monthly report, the Organization […]
US Set To Sanction Rosneft Oil, Fuel Trade With PDVSA
(S&P Global Platts, 15.Aug.2019) — The US is set to impose sanctions on Rosneft if it continues to trade crude oil and fuel with Venezuela’s PDVSA in exchange for debt repayments and stakes in joint venture projects in the South American nation, a senior Trump administration official told S&P Global […]
Venezuela’s Congress To Consider Scaled-back Reform
(Reuters, By Luc Cohen, 15.Aug.2019) — Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress is considering reforms to the country’s oil law that would open up the sector to private investment but are scaled back from the sweeping changes outlined in a past proposal, according to a draft of the bill seen by Reuters. The […]
Citgo Petroleum Corp. Names Carlos E. Jorda As CEO
(Citgo, 14.Aug.2019) — The Board of Directors of Citgo Petroleum Corporation has selected Carlos E. Jorda to occupy the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) position after a thorough and extensive search process that began earlier this year. Mr. Jorda has deep knowledge of Citgo and its stakeholders based on his previous […]
PDVSA Partners Fear Latest U.S. Sanctions: Sources
(Reuters, Luc Cohen, 14.Aug.2019) — Foreign joint venture partners with Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA are concerned the latest set of U.S. sanctions on the South American country could disrupt their operations, three industry sources said. The Trump administration last week froze all Venezuelan government assets in the United States […]
Guaido Names Execs To Debt Renegotiating Commission
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 13.Aug.2019) — Venezuela’s National Assembly leader Juan Guaido announced creation of a special commission dedicated to renegotiating the OPEC country’s public debt, the assembly reported Aug. 13 in an official statement. A special presidential advisory commission selected to renegotiate public debt and appointed by the […]
Citgo To Name New CEO
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, 13.Aug.2019) — Citgo Petroleum Corp has selected Carlos Jorda as its next chief executive, according to three people familiar with the matter, turning to a seasoned refinery expert and native Venezuelan to run a company facing legal attacks and working under U.S. sanctions against parent Petroleos de […]
How Trinidad Benefits From Venezuelan Crisis
(Oxford Business Group, 10.Aug.2019) — In June the UN estimated that 4m people had fled Venezuela as a result of the crisis. Of these, some 40,000 have arrived in T&T. Although this is far lower than the 1.3m who have gone to Colombia, migrants now make up 2.86 percent of […]
U.S. Expands Sanctions Against Venezuela
(WSJ, Vivian Salama, 6.Aug.2019) — The Trump administration imposed a total economic embargo against the government of Venezuela, a significant escalation of pressure against the regime of President Nicolás Maduro and countries including Russia and China that continue to support him, a senior administration official said. President Trump late Monday […]
Trump Imposes New Curbs In Bid To Pressure Maduro
(Bloomberg, 6.Aug.2019) — President Donald Trump imposed further sanctions on Venezuela, freezing the government’s assets in the U.S. and adding immigration restrictions in a move aimed at stepping up pressure on the regime of Nicolas Maduro. Property belonging to the Venezuelan government “may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or […]
US Escalates Venezuela Sanctions
(Platts, 6.Aug.2019) — The US escalated sanctions against Venezuela late Monday and may use the executive order to target crude flows to China and India, analysts said Tuesday. Highlights Analysts see latest order acting as secondary oil sanctions Platts Analytics forecasts Venezuela output falling to 750,000 b/d President Donald Trump […]
The ‘Citgo 6’ Remain Imprisoned In Venezuela
(Oilprice.com, Tsvetana Paraskova, 5.Aug.2019) — Six U.S. executives at Citgo, the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-held oil firm PDVSA, were detained by Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela in November 2017 and the ‘Citgo 6’—as the men have become known—are still in jail nearly two years after their detention, while their […]
Trump Freezes All Venezuelan Govt Assets
(Reuters, Matt Spetalnick and Roberta Rampton, 5.Aug.2019) — U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the United States on Monday, sharply escalating an economic and diplomatic pressure campaign aimed at removing socialist President Nicolas Maduro from power. The executive order signed by Trump goes […]
Guaido Govt Authorized To Pick Citgo BODs, Court Says
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 5.Aug.2019) — Court says National Assembly leader Juan Guaido authorized to appoint the directors of Houston-based refiner Citgo Petroleum, company spokesperson says. “Today’s decision is an important victory for Citgo. The Court’s affirmation of the Guaido Government’s authority to appoint the directors of Citgo, through […]
LatAmNRG Briefs and Heard On the Street: Guyana, Venezuela, Chile, Peru
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin and Piero Stewart, 2.Aug.2019) — LatAmNRG briefs and heard on the street related to Sempra Energy’s divestments in South America, Tullow Oil plc’s three well exploration campaign in Guyana, and workers continue to quit work at PDVSA in Punto Fijo due to low salaries and […]
Citgo Holding, Inc. Refinances $1.87bn Debt
(Citgo, 1.Aug.2019) — CITGO Holding, Inc., parent company of CITGO Petroleum Corporation (CPC), confirmed it has completed its previously announced refinancing transactions to redeem and pay-off $1.870 billion of its senior secured notes due in 2020. The transactions include a private offering of $1.370 billion aggregate principal amount of senior […]
Venezuela Oil Exports Slid 17.5% In July-Data
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, 1.Aug.2019) — Venezuela’s oil exports fell 17.5% in July to their second-lowest level since Washington imposed sanctions on the nation as state-run PDVSA finds fewer customers to take its oil, according to internal data from the company and Refinitiv Eikon. PDVSA and its partners exported a total […]
Russian Fuel Flowing Miles To Venezuela
(Bloomberg, 1.Aug.2019) — Russian oil products are making their way to sanction-stained Venezuela, affording a reprieve for the Latin American nation as it battles persistent fuel shortages. Venezuela received at least 616,000 barrels of gasoline and 500,000 of vacuum gas oil, a feedstock used to produce gasoline, in June and […]
Venezuelan Exiles Honing Day-After Action Plan
(Argus, 30.Jul.2019) — Venezuela´s fledgling opposition government is putting the final touches on a strategic package of economic measures designed to allow time for a future administration to adopt sweeping structural reforms. The emergency measures, contained in an omnibus legislative bill now before the exile government´s special attorney general and […]
India Boosts Imports Of Venezuelan Oil
(Argus, 29.Jul.2019) — India’s imports of Venezuelan crude jumped by 25pc year on year in June and by 37pc from May, reflecting the limited reach of US sanctions on the South American nation. Imports from Venezuela rose to 303,000 b/d last month from 221,000 b/d in May and 243,000 b/d […]
Petropiar JV starts blending
(Reuters, 29.Jul.2019, Words: 316) — Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA said on Monday the Petropiar extra-heavy crude upgrader, part-owned by U.S. oil company Chevron Corp, had begun operations as a blending facility. The facility, which used to produce upgraded crude destined mainly for the U.S. market, is expected to produce […]
Trump Govt Split Over Chevron’s Venezuela License
(Reuters, Timothy Gardner, 26.Jul.2019) — The Trump administration is split over whether to renew a license this week for energy company Chevron Corp’s operations in Venezuela, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo supporting a renewal and others opposing it, three sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. At […]
Chevron To Keep Drilling In Venezuela Despite Sanctions
(Reuters, 26.Jul.2019) — The administration of United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that it has renewed Chevron Corp’s licence to drill for oil and gas in Venezuela despite sanctions, signalling that it sees value in having the US oil producer operate in a country on the verge of […]
Chevron In Crosshairs As Trump Exerts Maximum Pressure On Maduro
(Bloomberg, Kevin Crowley, Lucia Kassai and Kevin Cirilli, 25.Jul.2019) — Pressure is mounting on U.S. President Donald Trump to end Chevron Corp.’s 100-year presence in Venezuela as he seeks to exert maximum pressure on the embattled regime of Nicolas Maduro. Trump will announce his decision on whether to grant the U.S. […]
CITGO Foundation Holds Symposium On Venezuelan Health Crisis
(Citgo, 25.Jul.2019) — The Simón Bolívar Foundation, the 501(c)(3) non-profit, private foundation of CITGO Petroleum Corporation, held an educational and networking event last night for the Houston community regarding the public health situation in Venezuela. The event featured keynote addresses from two public health experts: Dr. Marino J. Gonzalez R. […]
Chevron Call To Chart Venezuela Sanctions
(Argus, 25.Jul.2019) — A US government decision over Chevron’s expiring license to work in Venezuela is the first test of its willingness to ease sanctions that have so far failed to bring about regime change. Under oil sanctions imposed on 28 January, the US Treasury gave Chevron and a clutch […]
Guaido Says To Protect Chevron Assets In Venezuela
(Reuters, Luc Cohen) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Tuesday he would seek to protect Chevron Corp’s assets in the country if the United States does not renew a license allowing the company to operate despite sanctions on the OPEC nation’s oil sector. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, […]
Venezuela’s Oil Output Collapse: IHS Markit
(Ford Tanner, 23.Jul.2019) — Venezuela’s political crisis remains in stalemate. Escalating oil-sector sanctions imposed by the United States have contributed to massive declines in crude oil production, but the collapse of Venezuela’s petroleum industry has not resulted in a political shift. President Nicolás Maduro appears to maintain full control of […]
Venezuela Govt Says Blackouts Caused By ‘Electromagnetic Attack’
(Reuters, 22.Jul.2019) — More than half of Venezuela’s 23 states lost power on Monday, according to Reuters witnesses and reports on social media, a blackout the government blamed on an “electromagnetic attack.” It was the first blackout to include the capital, Caracas, since March, when the government blamed the opposition […]
Fallout From Sweet Oil Deal For Venezuela’s Neighbors
(NPR, 20.Jul.2019) — It sounded like such a good idea at the time. The year was 2005. Global oil prices were climbing dramatically. Countries in the Caribbean were facing major fuel shortages. Venezuela, one of the world’s largest producers of crude, offered to ease the staggering fuel costs faced by […]
PDVSA Partly Restarts Amuay After Blackout
(Reuters, 18.Jul.2019) — Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA partly restarted activity at its 645,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Amuay refinery where a blackout halted operations in early Jul., four sources with knowledge of the matter said, though it remained well below capacity. The refinery’s catalytic cracker restarted and was processing 68,000 bpd, […]
Sanctions Squeeze Venezuela’s EHCO Output
(Petroleum Economist, 18.Jul.2019) — Latin America’s economically troubled oil giant faces the difficult task of significantly raising Asian crude grades. Venezuela’s upgraders have been forced to stop upgrading extra-heavy crude and instead focus on blending light and heavy grades, as US sanctions limit exports of the South American country’s most […]
PdV To Tap Fractionator To Replace Imported Naphtha
(Argus, 9.Jul.2019) — Venezuela’s national oil company PdV is seeking to adapt its infrastructure to cope with a shortage of imported naphtha that is hindering heavy crude production and exports. The company said it plans to build two small pipelines at its Jose industrial complex to supply its 210,000 b/d […]
Venezuela’s CRP Shuts Down After Blackout
(Oilprice.com, Irina Slav, 8.Jul.2019) — Venezuela’s refining complex CRP has been shut down after a blackout that occurred on Sunday, Argus Media reports, citing union officials from the complex as saying the blackout was caused by a “catastrophic failure” in a turbine at the power plant that supplies electricity to […]