(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 27.Jun.2018) – OPEC’s recent agreement in Vienna implies Venezuela’s commitment to comply with oil production of 1.972 million barrels per day for the second semester of 2018. The agreement was announced at the recent meeting – the 4th Ministerial Meeting of Oil Exporting Countries Organization […]
Category: Venezuela
Venezuela energy
PDVSA’s Amuay Halts Cat Cracker
(Reuters, 27.Jun.2018) – Venezuela’s 645,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Amuay refinery has halted its catalytic cracking unit and its distillation unit No. 5, a refinery worker and a union leader said on Wednesday, while state oil company PDVSA said the units were operational. The cat cracker was halted on Saturday while the […]
Venezuela’s Petropiar upgrader begins restart
(Reuters, 26.Jun.2018) – Venezuela’s PDVSA and Chevron have begun to restart their 210,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Petropiar heavy crude upgrader after a nearly month-long, repair-related shutdown and a fire, according to the state-run company and two sources close to the facility. Venezuela’s crude upgraders, which can convert near 700,000 bpd of extra-heavy […]
PdV Restarting PetroPiar Upgrader
(Argus, 26.Jun.2018) – Venezuelan state-owned PdV is restarting its 210,000 b/d PetroPiar upgrader this week after completing month-long repairs, PdV and energy ministry officials said. Chevron, which has a 30pc stake in Petropiar, is “working closely” with PdV to restart the facility, the PdV executive said. Chevron regularly declines to […]
PDVSA Controls Fire at PetroPiar Furnace
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 26.Jun.2018) – The early morning incident occurred at the José Antonio Anzoátegui Industrial Complex (CIJAA) in Barcelona, Venezuela. The fire occurred at the hydro processing unit furnace 14 F-001, announced PDVSA in an official statement. The PetroPiar joint venture upgrades crude oil from the Hugo […]
OPEC Ministerial Meeting in December
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 25.Jun.2018) – Ministers from the Oil Exporting Countries Organization (OPEC) announced during meetings in Vienna, Austria that the 5th OPEC+ countries Ministerial Meeting will take place in the same city on December 4, 2018. ***
Factsheet: PDVSA’s El Palito refinery
CARACAS, VENEZUELA (Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 23.Jun.2018, Words: 157) – PDVSA’s El Palito refinery has been in service now for 58 years. Operations at the refinery commenced on 23 Jun. 1960. The refinery, with two units: a primary crude distillation unit and catalytic reform unit, had an initial processing […]
Venezuela’s Quevedo Speaks of Oil War, OPEC
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 22.Jun.2018) – Venezuela’s Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo spoke out in Europe against U.S. sanctions against Venezuela. “[These sanctions] represent a direct attack against the oil market stability, due to a non-conventional war undertaken by the largest world oil crude consumer,” reported PDVSA in an official […]
OPEC Planning to Boost Output by 1 MMb/d
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 22.Jun.2018) – OPEC is looking to boost crude oil output by 1 million barrels per day (MMb/d). The production agreement goes into effect in July 2018, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced today in Vienna, Austria. Ecuador’s Hydrocarbon Ministry later published the details […]
Venezuelan Minister: Can ‘Absolutely’ Grow Output
(CNBC, 22.Jun.2018) – Manuel Quevedo discusses the meeting of the world’s top oil producers in Vienna. Venezuela’s Oil Minister Quevedo, who also serves as the President of PDVSA, discusses the issue from Vienna. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/06/22/venezuelan-energy-minister-can-absolutely-grow-production.html
Venezuela: U.S. Sanctions “An Attack On The Oil Market”
(OilPrice.com, Tsvetana Paraskova, 22.Jun.2018 – The U.S. sanctions against Venezuela are affecting consumers worldwide and are an attack on the oil market, Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo said on Thursday. The minister, speaking at an OPEC International Seminar today—a day before OPEC ministers meet to discuss how much production to […]
EIA Publishes Updated Venezuela Country Report
(EIA, 21.Jun.2018) – Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world, in large part because of the heavy oil reserves in the Orinoco Oil Basin. In addition to oil reserves, Venezuela has sizeable natural gas reserves, although the development of natural gas lags significantly behind that of oil, reported […]
Uncertainty Looms Large Over LatAm Oil
(Oilprice.com, Tsvetana Paraskova, 20.Jun.2018) – While oil industry analysts and market participants are watching Venezuela closely for clues about how low its oil production will go, several other countries in Latin America are holding key elections this year, elections that will no doubt shape the countries’ short and medium-term oil […]
Venezuelan Oil Output Charting New Lows
(UPI, Daniel J. Graeber, 19.Jun.2018) – Ahead of what could be pivotal talks among OPEC members, production from founding member Venezuela could hit new lows soon, an industry report found. State-backed oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, known commonly as PDVSA, notified 11 of its international customers earlier this month that […]
OPEC’s Vienna Meeting: The Challenge of Failing NOCs
(The Council on Foreign Relations, Amy Myers Jaffe, 19.Jun.2018) – As energy ministers from major oil producing countries gather in Vienna this week to discuss the stability of global oil markets, the variables that will dictate outcomes have rapidly shifted. Pre-meeting narratives that previously focused on the appropriate level of […]
Venezuelan Oil Ministry, PDVSA Plan to Boost Output
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 17.Jun.2018) – Venezuela’s Oil Ministry and PDVSA reiterated joint plans to boost crude oil output by 1 million barrels per day. To this end, officials from the OPEC nation’s oil ministry and state oil company meet in Caracas to discuss to jointly review heavy oil […]
Venezuela Oil Exports to China Slump
(Reuters, 17.Jun.2018) – Reuters) – China’s imports of Venezuelan crude oil could sink to their lowest in nearly eight years in July as the OPEC producer struggles with shrinking output and mounting logistics issues, according to people familiar with the matter and shipping data. State-controlled PetroChina expects June loadings from […]
Venezuela Oil Output May Sink To 1 MMb/d
(OilPrice.com, Tsvetana Paraskova, 15.Jun.2018) – Venezuela’s plummeting oil production is nearing the psychological threshold of just 1 million bpd as early as this year, analysts and industry experts tell Platts. Venezuela’s production plummeted again in May, by 42,500 bpd from April to below 1.4 million bpd—1.392 million bpd, according to […]
THROWBACK POST … Lake Maracaibo: descent into chaos [EAItv]
CARACAS, VENEZUELA (By Editores LatinPetroleum, Piero Stewart, 15.Jun.2018, Words: 43) – A brief look at Lake Maracaibo’s descent into chaos. The Maracaibo basin has produced over 43 billion barrels of petroleum, and close to 19 billion barrels of proven reserves still remain.
Ecuador Oil Output at 519 Mb/d in May 2018
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 15.Jun.2018) – Ecuador’s production of crude oil reached 519 thousand barrels per day (Mb/d) in May 2018, up compared to 518 Mb/d in April 2018, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported in its monthly oil report. Ecuador, one of only two OPEC member […]
Venezuela Oil Output Slides to 1.4 MMb/d in May 2018
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 14.Jun.2018) – Venezuela’s oil production continues its downward slope. Venezuela’s crude oil production fell to 1.392 million barrels per day (MMb/d) in May 2018, according to a recent report by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), citing data from secondary sources. This compares to […]
PDVSA Announces Start-Up of Cardon Refinery AV3 Plant
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 14.Jun.2018) – PDVSA announced its subsidiary PDV Mantenimiento oversaw the successful start up of the High Vacuum 3 (AV3) Plant at the Cardón Refinery located in the Paraguaná Peninsula in Western Venezuela. Savings to PDVSA from the activation of the AV3 will amount to an […]
Venezuela Forgoes Nearly $30 Bln in Oil Revenues
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 12.Jun.2018) – Venezuela will continue to forgo substantial oil revenues this year due to its collapsing production. In the last four years of the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the country’s oil production has fallen between 1.361 million barrels per day (MMb/d) according to […]
PDVAL: PDVSA’s Non-Strategic Affiliate? [EAItv]
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 1.Jun.2018) – A brief look at PDVSA’s PDVAL.
Venezuela Upgraders Halting Ops Amid Export Crisis
(Reuters, Deisy Buitrago, Marianna Parraga, 12.Jun.2018) – Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA [PDVSA.UL] and partners have halted operations at two upgraders that convert extra-heavy oil into exportable crude and plan to stop work at two others, according to six sources close to the projects, a move aimed at easing the strains from […]
Venezuela Won’t Have Enough Oil To Export By 2019
(OilPrice.com, Robert Rapier, 12.Jun.2018) – On May 21st President Donald Trump signed a new executive order prohibiting certain oil-related transactions with Venezuela. GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, argues that the new sanctions are symbolic in comparison to the more targeted sanctions previously considered that would limit exports of […]
ExxonMobil Advances Offshore Guyana Liza Development
(ExxonMobil, 12.Jun.2018) – The Liza Phase 1 development continues to rapidly progress, with the commencement of development drilling offshore Guyana, ExxonMobil said. Development drilling began in May for the first of 17 wells planned for Phase 1, laying the foundation for production startup in 2020. The company and its co-venturers […]
PDVSA Completes First Ship-to-Ship Transfer
(Kallanish Energy, 11.Jun.2018) — Venezuela’s PDVSA has reportedly completed its first ship-to-ship (STS) transfer last week, in a move to tackle the severe bottleneck of tankers around its main crude ports. Reuters reported the inaugural operation was with the Suezmax tanker Sonagol Kalandula for a Thai company’s refinery in Kemaman, […]
What is in store for Mexican oil under a new leader?
(Financial Times, Nick Butler, 10.Jun.2018) Among this year’s many elections — from Iraq to Malaysia to Russia — none is more important for the international energy business than the presidential race in Mexico, which will be held on July 1. Unless the polls are all badly awry, the candidate of […]
Chevron Brazil Chief to Lead Venezuela Ops After Arrests
(Reuters, 9.Jun.2018) — US oil producer Chevron Corp permanently assigned its Brazil country chief to run its Venezuelan operations, three sources said this week, after the months-long detention of two executives escalated tensions between the Opec-member nation and foreign oil firms. Javier La Rosa, who had been president of Chevron […]
Regional Deepwater Industry in Southern Caribbean
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 7.Jun.2018) – Kevin Ramnarine discusses the regional deep-water industry in the southern Caribbean during a technical speech in Trinidad on the emerging regional deep-water province of Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, which was hosted by the Geological Society of Trinidad and Tobago and streamed live.
Cuba’s Fuel Supply and Exports Pressure Currency
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 7.Jun.2018) – Cuba’s foreign currency will be under pressure this year. “Difficulties with fuel supply and a drop in exports have continued to put pressure on the availability of foreign currency,” wrote Caribbean Economist Marla Dukharan in a recent Caribbean Economic Report, which is available […]
Deepwater Projects Breakeven at $42/bbl, Ramnarine Says
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 7.Jun.2018) –That’s according to comments by former Trinidad and Tobago Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine. “On average, deep-water projects need an oil price of US$42 per barrel to break even at an NPV10. Assuming a 15% internal rate of return hurdle (NPV15), 5 billion barrels of […]
Maduro Says U.S. Infiltrated Venezuela’s Oil Industry
(Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com, 6.Jun.2018) — Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has accused the United States of infiltrating senior positions at the Venezuelan oil industry. “There was a process of penetration and infiltration in key positions of the petroleum industry, to control strategic information,” Maduro was quoted as saying at a meeting […]
Venezuela’s Oil Meltdown Defies Belief
(Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.com, 6.Jun.2018) — Venezuela might have to declare force majeure on its oil exports as production plunges and its ports are unable to ship enough crude. The ongoing meltdown in Venezuela’s oil sector could tighten the oil market more than expected. Reuters reported Tuesday that Venezuela is considering […]
Venezuelan Decree Aims to Boost PDVSA Oil Capacity
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 5.Jun.2018) – Decree No. 3368, dated April 12, 2018, and published in Gazette No. 41376, establishes a special transitional regime aimed at boosting Venezuela’s oil production capacity. Additionally, resolutions No. 051 and 052, published in Gazette No. 41394, dated May 10, 2018, establish measures aimed […]
Venezuela Says 23,319 Wells Have 1.4 MMb/d Recovery Potential
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 5.Jun.2018) – Venezuela’s Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo says the state oil company has identified 23,319 wells which have potential to recover Venezuela’s oil production by 1.426 million barrels per day (MMb/d). Quevedo, who also serves as the president of PDVSA, made the announcement in La […]
PDVSA mulling force majeure on oil exports -Argus
(Reuters, 5.Jun.2018) — Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA is considering a declaration of force majeure on some of its oil supply contracts in June unless its clients agree to accept volume reductions of up to 50 percent, Argus reported on Tuesday, citing PDVSA officials. PDVSA “in the best case only has about […]
Ramnarine Talks About Southern Caribbean Deepwater Industry
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 31.May.2018) – Former Trinidad and Tobago Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine will speak in Port of Spain about the regional deepwater industry in the Southern Caribbean. An abstract from his technical talk about the regional deepwater industry in the Southern Caribbean, and the case of Guyana, […]
Venezuela’s Grim Realities
(Anthony Venezia, Energy Intelligence, 30.May.2018) — The political and economic crisis afflicting Venezuela typically makes international headlines in connection with the possibility of sanctions being imposed on Caracas by the US, or the impact on world oil markets of the country’s dwindling crude production. But recent reporting by Energy Intelligence […]
Guyana’s Energy Agency Responds in Q&A about Fuel Smuggling
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 30.May.2018) – Fuel smuggling from countries neighbouring Guyana is a major issue. The small South American country has developed the Fuel Marking Programme to address the issue. What follows here within are questions from Guyana’s Stabroek News directed at the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) and […]
India Says No Plans for Tade with Venezuela’s ‘petro’
(Reuters, 28.May.2018) — India said on Monday it had no plans to use Venezuela’s local cryptocurrency ‘petro’ in oil trade with the Latin American nation, which is facing sanctions from the United States. Responding to a question at a news conference, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj cited an order by the […]
Venezuela’s Energy Sectors Remain Attractive, Unattractive
(Energy Analytics Institute, 28.May.2018) — Venezuela’s upstream, downstream and midstream sectors remain attractive, yet unattractive to investors. Why the contradiction? The three sectors remain highly attractive due to the fact that Venezuela — the country with the world’s largest crude oil reserve base and the eighth largest natural gas reserve […]
Venezuela’s Ex-Oil Czar Sees Economic Collapse Accelerating
(AP, 27.May.2018) – Venezuela’s former oil czar said crude production in the OPEC nation will continue to plummet in the aftermath of President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election, as the embattled socialist leader takes the country down an increasingly authoritarian path that scares off private investment and leads to more international sanctions […]
PDVSA owes Cardon IV partners Eni and Repsol $1bn
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 25.May.2018) ‐- Venezuela’s state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela owes an estimated $1bn to its partners in the Cardón IV natural gas project offshore. Gas Energy Latin America partner Antero Alvarado told Petroguía in interview that Caracas-based PDVSA is accumulating estimated monthly expenses of $60mn […]
Energy, Education, and Learning Through NRG ED
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 24.May.2018) – Energy Analytics Institute, formerly LatinPetroleum Inc., continues to promote its “Energy Education Initiative” in the Americas, also known as “NRG ED.” NRG ED is structured to work with K-12 schools, community colleges, four-year colleges and universities, workforce training programs, communities and businesses, and […]
The insignificance of Venezuela’s 342-year R/P ratio
(Energy Analytics Institute, Pietro D. Pitts, 24.May.2018) – Venezuela’s reserves-to-production or R/P ratio was a remarkable 342 times in 2016 based on reserves of 300.9 billion barrels and production of 2.41 million barrels per day (MMb/d), according to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy. Today, in a best-case scenario, Venezuela’s […]
Venezuela Election, US Sanctions, Rising Prices, Falling Output
(Platts, 18.May.2018) — Ahead of Sunday’s presidential election in Venezuela, Risa Grais-Targow, director-Latin America, at the Eurasia Group, spoke to S&P Global Platts about the expected US response, the impact of rising oil prices on sanctions and the ongoing collapse of the country’s oil sector. The interview has been edited […]
Venezuela Oil Output Down to 1949 Levels
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 18.May.2018) – Venezuela’s oil production continues to fall, and further declines are anticipated due to a number of problems at state oil company PDVSA, according to a report by Caracas Capital Markets. “Venezuela’s oil production has now fallen from 3.5 million barrels per day when […]
PDVSA Looks to Recuperate Lake Vessels in Bachaquero
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 17.May.2018) — PDVSA officials Executive Vice President Ysmel Serrano and External Directors Ricardo León and Yurbis Gómez visited with workers from the Petrozamora mixed company, while touring the Libertador II dock located in Bachaquero along the Eastern Coast of Lake Maracaibo, to discuss plans to […]