(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 14.May.2018) – Venezuela’s Ayacucho Block is one of four that comprise the Hugo Chavez Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt, also known as the Faja. Collectively, the four blocks, comprised of Boyacá, JunĂn, Ayacucho and Carabobo, contain the largest accumulation of heavy and extra-heavy crude oil (ECHO) […]
Category: Venezuela
Venezuela energy
PDVSA Ex-President Luis Giusti Says Co. Bankrupt
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 14.May.2018) – Venezuela’s state oil company PetrĂłleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) is bankrupt, at least that what its former president Luis Giusti thinks. “If you look at the signs … they all point to a company that is bankrupt,” said Giusti during a televised interview […]
PDVSA Inaugurates Valdez Thermoelectric Plant in GĂĽiria
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 14.May.2018) – PDVSA inaugurated the 175 megawatt TG1 turbo-generating unit of the Juan Manuel Valdez Thermoelectric Plant located within the CIGMA industrial complex in GĂĽiria, Venezuela. The thermoelectric plant will have a total capacity to generate 350 megawatts of energy. Located in Sucre state, the […]
Conoco Authorized to Seize $636 Mln in PDVSA Assets
(Reuters, 13.May.2018) – A Curacao court has authorized ConocoPhillips to seize about $636 million in assets belonging to Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA due to the 2007 nationalization of the U.S. oil major’s projects in Venezuela. The legal action was the latest in the Caribbean to enforce a $2 billion […]
PDVSA’s Quevedo Meets with Service Providers in Maturin
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 8.May.2018) – Venezuela’s Oil Minister and PDVSA President Manuel Quevedo traveled to MaturĂn to meet with representatives from companies that provide services to PDVSA’s Eastern Production division. Everything that we are proposing at this stage of the industry would not be possible without the workers, […]
PDVSA Audit and Venezuela Oil Sector Opening Needed
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 7.May.2018) – Venezuela’s opposition presidential candidate Henri Falcon said changes need to be made at state oil company PetrĂłleos de Venezuela, S.A.. He also said an petroleum sector opening was needed to attract investments and boost declining oil production in the OPEC nation. The transformation […]
Venezuela Ratifies PDVSA President Quevedo, Names Board
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 6.May.2018) – Venezuela published its Official Gazette No. 41,389 on 3 May 3 2018 which detailed Decree No. 3398 and the naming of the Board of Directors of state oil company PetrĂłleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). Most importantly, the decree ratified Manuel Quevedo as president […]
Venezuela’s oil minister promotes partnerships in the Faja
(PDVSA, 5.May.2018) – People’s Minister of Petroleum and President of Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), Manuel Quevedo, held a strategic meeting with oil business leaders in the Ayacucho Division of the Hugo Chávez Orinoco Oil Belt, as part of the Oil Production Recovery Plan. Vice President of Exploration and Production, […]
Venezuela’s Oil Sector Glory Days [EAItv]
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 1.May.2018) – A brief look at Venezuela’s oil sector glory days. Will they return?
ECLAC Ssays Venezuela’s Economic Activity to Fall 8.5% in 2018
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 1.May.2018) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, also known as ECLAC or CEPAL by its Spanish acronym, projects economic activity in troubled Venezuela will contract 8.5% in 2018. Gross domestic product or (GDP) estimates for other important countries and […]
Venezuela Never Closed Its Doors on T&T Nationals: Lawmaker Says
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 30.Apr.2018) – Venezuelan lawmaker JosĂ© Brito wrote in a Twitter post that the OPEC country never closed its doors to the hundreds of Trinidadian nationals that left their twin-island nation to seek opportunities in Venezuela. When Trinidad’s Prime Minister Keith Rowley says in regards to […]
Total President Says Output At One Venezuela Field Down 33%
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 22.Apr.2018) – Patrick Pouyanne, the Chief Executive Officer of French major Total, announced production at one of its oil fields in Venezuela was down to 80,000 barrels per day (b/d) from 120,000 b/d. Pouyanne made the comments during an oil summit in Paris, reported Oil […]
PDVSA Refining VP Blanco Visits Puerto La Cruz Refinery
(Energy Analytics Institute, 28.Mar.2018) – PDVSA Refining Vice President Guillermo Blanco visited the operational areas of Puerto La Cruz Refinery (RPLC), located in northern Anzoátegui state, reported PDVSA in an official statement. General Manager Johnnyel Ramos guided Blanco and External Director Yurbis GĂłmez around RPLC. The RPLC is one of […]
PetroChina, Rosneft Leave Venezuela Refining Projects
(Kallanish Energy, 28.Mar.2018) – Chinese and Russian state oil companies PetroChina and Rosneft will not pay the costs of repairing and modernizing Venezuela’s CardĂłn and Amuay refineries for PDVSA, according to union sources. Ivan Freites, senior official of the Venezuelan Unions Federation of Oil Workers, told local newspaper El Nacional […]
Venezuela Tries To Pay Russian Debt With Cryptocurrency
(Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com, 28.Mar.2018) – If crisis-hit Venezuela was hoping to pay off its US$3.15-billion debt to Russia with its new cryptocurrency, those hopes have been shattered as the Russian Finance Ministry announces that it won’t be accepting digital coin. Venezuela will not be paying any part of its debt […]
Venezuela’s Refining Capacity Impresses But Utilization Tells Story
(Energy Analytics Institute, Pietro D. Pitts, 27.Mar.2018) – Venezuela’s PDVSA owns six domestic refineries with a combined processing capacity of 1,303 thousand barrels per day (Mb/d), according to data from the state oil entity. A quick summary of the refineries follows: Refinery ————- Capacity (Mb/d) —- % of Total Amuay […]
Officials from Trinidad and Venezuela Discuss Gas Deals
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 27.Mar.2018) – Delegations from Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela meet in Caracas to review progress related to gas agreements between both nations, reported PDVSA in an official statement. The delegations reviewed the progress of agreements to finalize construction, operation and maintenance of a gas pipeline […]
PDVSA to Shut Three of Four Refineries Indefinitely: Platts
(Platts, 22.Mar.2018) – PDVSA is planning to close three of its four large refineries in Venezuela indefinitely due to of lack of crude to process and because the state company does not have enough staff to operate the plants, union sources said Thursday. Refineries: Venezuela’s Cardon, Puerto La Cruz and […]
Jamaica, Venezuelan Officials Discuss Bilateral Issues
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 22.Mar.2018) – Jamaica’s Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson-Smith and her Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza held a high-level bilateral meeting in Caracas regarding ways to strengthen energy cooperation through the Petrocaribe Energy Cooperation Agreement, reported PDVSA in an official statement. Both officials also reaffirmed their country’s willingness […]
Oil Workers Protest at PDVSA HQs In Caracas
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 22.Mar.2018) – Workers at PDVSA’s headquarters in Caracas, La Campiña, participated in protest today inside the company’s main building, reported the daily El Nacional, citing a local reporter, Ramon Camacho. During the protest, the workers demanded that PDVSA make due on all late payments to […]
PDVSA Lagunillas Site Fire Takes 12 Hours to Extinguish
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 20.Mar.2018) – A fire reported Saturday 17 March 2018 at a PDVSA controlled petroleum site located in the Lagunillas sector in Zulia state took an estimated 12 hours to extinguish due to a lack of fire foam, reported the daily El Nacional, citing a tweet […]
PDVSA Collective Contract Eliminates 8 Hour Shifts
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 19.Mar.2018) – A new collective contract signed by PDVSA on 14 March 2018 eliminates 8 hour shifts and work lunch rooms, reported the newspaper El Nacional, citing oil union official Iván Freites. Workers will now be required to work 12-hour shifts, said Freites. He added […]
Guyana Is About to Open Up Pandora’s Barrel
(Mac Margolis, 16.Feb.2018) – Wedged between Brazil and Venezuela, Guyana could easily go unnoticed. It has fewer than 750,000 people and a per capita income of $4,300, half the regional average, qualifying it as the hemisphere’s third-poorest nation. At the moment, Guyana also might be its luckiest. Having struck big […]
The Caribbean Poised To Become Major Oil Region
(OilPrice.com, Haley Zaremba, 22.Aug.2017) – In the future, we may be hearing about the Caribbean a whole lot more when talking about oil and gas. Previously, the area was virtually off the map for the fossil fuels industry, despite its proximity to the vast oil reserves of Venezuela. Now, the […]
As Venezuela’s Economy Plummets, Mass Exodus Ensues
(9.Jul.2017, PBS NewHour) – Despite having the largest oil reserves in the world, Venezuela’s economy is in a freefall, necessities have become scarce and tens of thousands of residents are fleeing across the border to Colombia. With support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, special correspondent Nadja Drost and […]
PDVSA’s Del Pino Backs Constituent
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 23.May.2017) – PDVSA President Eulogio Del Pino announced that he fully backs Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in the Constituent Assembly process to defeat what he described as violence brought about by the right-wing political groups, reported PDVSA, citing the president of the state oil company. […]
Venezuelan Oil Workers March With Maduro
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 23.May.2017) – Venezuelan petroleum sector workers accompanied Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a march for peace to the headquarters of the National Electoral Council (CNE by its Spanish acronym) in Caracas where he revealed details related to the upcoming Constituent Assembly, a process to rewrite […]
PDVSA’s Deterioration on All Fronts
(Energy Analytics Institute, Pietro D. Pitts, 22.May.2017) – In recent weeks PDVSA has reported at least three accidents: Petrotrin oil spill in Sucre state and incidents at its Cardon and Curaçao refineries. The writing on the wall continues to point to a cash-strapped state oil company with an inability to […]
PDVSA, Shell Discuss Gas Exports
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 21.May.2017) – PDVSA and Shell continue to conduct discussions related to the exportation of Venezuelan natural gas to the twin-nation island of Trinidad and Tobago, reported PDVSA in an official statement. “We are evaluating the base of resources for export,” announced PDVSA, citing PDVSA Gas […]
PDVSA Contingency Plan for T&T Oil Spill
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 21.May.2017) – PDVSA reiterated in a twitter post that once the authorities from Trinidad and Tobago notified the company of the Petrotrin oil spill that it activated a local contingency plan. ***
PDVSA Says Curacao Refinery Fire Out
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 21.May.2017) – PDVSA announced that it has completely controlled a fire that occurred at its Isla de Curacao refinery. The incident occurred at the distillation unit of the refinery, reported PDVSA in an official statement. PDVSA has assigned an investigation committee to determine the causes […]
PDVSA Says Oil Spill Clean-up Advances
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 20.May.2017) – PDVSA announced that clean-up activities continue along the Venezuelan coast off Sucre state, related to the spill of crude oil at the Pointe-Ă -Pierre refinery in Trinidad and Tobago, reported the state oil co. in an official statement. After reviewing clean-up activities along the […]
Venezuela Faces Liquidity Crisis
(Piero Stewart, Energy Analytics Institute, 20.May.2017) – Petroleum production below historic average levels, economic distortions on all fronts, the problem with Venezuela, which is clear for the financial markets, is the liquidity crisis, according to an economist in Caracas. “The Venezuela debt is considered one of the most attractive for […]
Venezuela’s High Inflation, Hyperinflation
(Piero Stewart, Energy Analytics Institute, 20.May.2017) – “This government doesn’t want to reduce inflation because this government, generating inflation uses it to finance itself,” said opposition lawmaker and Economist JosĂ© Guerra. “The inflation is a financing mechanism of the government and that is why they don’t want to stop it,” […]
PDVSA Guarantees Gasoline, Fuel Supply
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 20.May.2017) – PDVSA continues to guarantee the supply of fuels across the country despite ongoing protests, reported PDVSA in an official statement, citing Commerce and Supply Vice President Ysmel Serrano. PDVSA guarantees it will deliver more than 50 million liters of fuel including 91 and […]
Venezuelan Ranchers Affected by Gasoline Shortages
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 19.May.2017) – In recent weeks, a reported 66 companies in Venezuela dedicated to the collection of milk have closed their doors and stopped distribution activities due to problems receiving fuel, reported the daily newspaper El Nacional, citing Leonardo Figueroa, president of the Ranchers Association of […]
PDVSA Steps Up Fuel Security
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 18.May.2017) – PDVSA has reinforced effects to protect is fuel supply amid ongoing protests across Venezuela. Several protests have led to incidents affecting gasoline distribution tankers and oil sector workers, reported PDVSA in an official statement. “We have reacted rationally and continue to transport more […]
PDVSA Halts Cardon Catalytic Unit
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 16.May.2017) – PDVSA halted the catalytic cracking unit at the 310,000 barrel-per-day Cardón refinery in Punto Fijo, reported Reuters, citing a worker at the plant and a union official. It is unclear when the unit will be back online. ***
PDVSA, Camimpeg-SPS Ink Maracaibo Deal
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 16.May.2017) – PDVSA in alliance with Camimpeg (CompañĂa AnĂłnima Militar de Industrias Mineras, PetrolĂferas y Gas) and Southern Procurement Services (SPS) plan to boost production in Lake Maracaibo by more than 30,000 b/d with an investment of $400 mln, reported PDVSA in an official statement. […]
IndoVenezolana Opens Injection Plant
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 15.May.2017) – Petrolera Indovenezolana opened a Saltwater Injection Plant in Zuata North field, Anzoátegui state to boost production and prevent reservoir declination. The field, located in Hugo Chávez Orinoco Oil Belt’s JunĂn Division, utilized Venezuelan technology during the early phase of the project, reported PDVSA […]
Trinidad Oil Spill Reaches Venezuelan Beaches
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 13.May.2017) – PDVSA has intensified contingency measures to counter the ill effects of an oil spill that occurred last week in neighboring Trinidad and Tobago. Oil from the spill has reached the Venezuelan eastern coast including the Bay of Morro de Puerto Santo and Cipara […]
PDVSA’s Barinas Plant Ready in June 2017
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 13.May.2017) – PDVSA announced construction of a 100-MW electric generation plant located in Barinas state had reached the 98% mark in terms of completion. Work on the plant is estimate for completion this June 2017, PDVSA announced in an official statement. New infrastructure at the […]
Venezuela Eyes 2018 Presidential Elections
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 13.May.2017) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said during a speech televised on national TV that “rain, thunder or lightning, in Venezuela there would be presidential elections in 2018 because the revolution governed.” ***
Venezuela to End Oil Rentier Model
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 26.Mar.2017) – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro announced that this year the South American country would change its oil rentier model for an economic model whereby the private sector would work with his revolutionary government. ***
Citgo Says No to Heating Oil Program
(Energy Analytics Institute, 26.Mar.2017) – Houston-based Citgo Petroleum Corporation, the U.S.-based refinery arm of PDVSA, had to skip out on sending heating oil to citizens in the U.S. northeast under a program dubbed “Joe-4-Oil” amid a continued economic crisis in the oil-rich nation, reported the news agency AP. ***
Venezuela Output To Fall 100-150 Mb/d in 2017
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 26.Mar.2017) – An inability to boost foreign and domestic investments in Venezuela’s oil sector in 2017 will result in further declines in the Caribbean nation’s production of crude oil, according to IESA Professor Richard Obuchi. Producing petroleum requires investments, and if they do not materialize, […]
Venezuela Not Selling Gasoline in Pesos
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 15.May.2017) – Venezuela expects to receive between $120,000 and $150,000 per day from the sale of its gasoline along the Colombian border, reported the daily El Nacional citing Economist Aldo Contreras. However, since initiating the process on January 2, 2017 to commercialize its gasoline along […]
Venezuela Holds World’s 8th Largest Gas Reserves
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 11.Mar.2017) – Venezuela, the country with the world’s largest crude oil reserves, also continues to hold the world’s eighth largest accumulation of natural gas reserves (see table below), according to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy. Top Ten Holders of Natural Gas Reserves Worldwide Rank […]
Jusepin Plant to Assist PDVSA Gas Reduce Flaring
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 11.Mar.2017) – PDVSA said that the start of the Jusepin 200 gas processing plant will allow its affiliate PDVSA Gas to reduce gas flaring by 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), announced Venezuela’s oil ministry in a twitter post. The compression plant, located in […]
Guri Dam Water Level Above 2016 Levels
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 11.Mar.2017) – The water level at Venezuela’s Guri Dam was at 261 meters above sea level as of March 1, 2017, and up 12 meters over the same period in 2016 when the water level was at 249 meters above sea level, reported the daily […]