(Sputnik, 18.Oct.2019) — The United States has extended a license that allows certain transactions with PDVSA’s joint venture Nynas AB despite US sanctions on the Venezuelan oil sector, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a notice on its website on Wednesday. “All transactions and activities […]
Category: North America
North America energy
Guaido Team Proposes Truce To PDVSA Bondholders
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga and Corina Pons, 18.Oct2019) — Venezuela’s opposition last week sent holders of state oil company PDVSA’s 2020 bond a proposal to suspend legal actions for 90 days, the latest maneuver to avoid losing U.S. refiner Citgo, three sources familiar with the talks said. The investors have not […]
Chevron To Receive Venezuelan Oil Cargo
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, 18.Oct.2019) — U.S. oil major Chevron Corp is scheduled this month to receive at least one cargo of crude oil from sanctioned Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, according to an internal PDVSA document. If the loading proceeds, it would be the first shipment assigned to Chevron since […]
Braskem Launches I’m Green™
(Braskem, 17.Oct.2019) — Braskem, the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas and leading producer of biopolymers in the world, today formally launched its new I’m green™ Recycled polypropylene (PP) in the United States. The roll-out of Braskem’s new I’m green™ Recycled polypropylene represents one of the first new offerings under […]
Chevron Venezuela’s Exit To Aid Putin’s Russia
(S&P Global Platts, Brian Scheid and Rosemary Griffin, 17.Oct.2019) — Chevron is pushing back against the Trump administration’s plans to let the company’s Venezuela sanctions waiver expire, arguing such a move could ultimately drive oil production up, bolstering both the Maduro regime and Russia’s standing in the global market. “It’d […]
Maduro Rivals Seek Break With Citgo
(Argus, 17.Oct.2019) — Venezuela’s main political opposition is pressing for a deal with foreign bondholders to suspend a looming $914mn obligation that is tethered to coveted US refining assets. The high-stakes standoff over the PdV 2020 bond is closely watched by a myriad of other creditors, including Russia and China […]
Guaido Camp Declares PDVSA 2020 Bond Void
(venezuelanalysis.com, 16.Oct.2019) — Venezuela’s CITGO could be seized by creditors. Venezuela’s opposition-held National Assembly (AN) passed a resolution Tuesday branding the country’s 2020 PDVSA bond “invalid.” The move comes on the eve of a hefty US $913 million payment to creditors due October 28. Non-payment could mean the loss of […]
Venezuela’s Prize Oil Asset May Soon Be Up For Grabs
(Oilprice.com, Tsvetana Paraskova, 16.Oct.2019) — Venezuela’s opposition is getting ready to file within days a lawsuit in the United States seeking to prevent bond holders of Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA from going after shares in its U.S. subsidiary Citgo over an expected PDVSA bond default this month, Reuters reports, […]
Venezuela’s Opposition Snubs PDVSA Bondholders
(Argus, 15.Oct.2019) — Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly signaled to bondholders today that it will not honor a $914mn principal and interest obligation because it says the debt issuance is unconstitutional. The controversial PdV 2020 bond issued by Venezuela’s national oil company PdV is collateralized by the firm’s US refining unit […]
Venezuelan Oil Output Could Be Halved Without Chevron Waiver
(S&P Global Platts, Brian Scheid, 14.Oct.2019) — Venezuelan oil production, already averaging a historic low near 600,000 b/d, could quickly plummet below 300,000 b/d if the Trump administration allows a waiver for Chevron and four US oil services companies to expire next week, analysts told S&P Global Platts. “I think […]
Chevron Grabs 5 Blocks In ANP’s 16th Bid Round
(Chevron, 10.Oct.2019) — Chevron Brasil welcomes the results of Brazil’s 16th Bid Round. We are pleased to be part of the following five successful consortia, including two as the operator: — Block S-M-766: Chevron holds an operating 40% interest in this block located in the Santos Basin, along with partners […]
ANP 16th Round Attracts Record R$8.9bn Signings
(ANP, 10.Oct.2019) — The 16th Bidding Round collected R$ 8.9 billions in signature bonuses, a record value among the concession rounds already held in Brazil. The round will generate investments of at least R$ 1.58 billion in the first phase of the concession contracts alone (exploration phase). Twelve of the […]
Reliance To Resume Venezuela Oil Loadings
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, 9.Oct.2019) — Indian refiner Reliance Industries Ltd is scheduled to resume loading Venezuelan crude in October after a four-month pause, according to sources and internal documents from PDVSA seen by Reuters, a move that could help Venezuela’s state-run company drain its large oil inventories. The United States in January […]
Aruba Ends Citgo Deal
(Reuters, 9.Oct.2019) — Aruba on Wednesday reached an agreement with U.S. based Citgo Petroleum Corp to end its contract to refurbish and operate the island’s refinery, a statement from the island’s prime minister said. The Caribbean nation plans to pursue outside candidates to take over the 209,000 barrel per day […]
CITGO Key To Trump’s Venezuela Strategy
(Forbes, Ariel Cohen, 8.Oct.2019) — At last month’s United Nations General Assembly, the Lima Group, the U.S.-led coalition of 14 countries in the Americas seeking a solution to the Venezuela crisis, and the International Contact Group, reaffirmed its commitment to democracy and the rule of law. The human rights record […]
Citgo Bolsters Legal Defenses With Former BP Lawyer
(Reuters, 8.Oct.2019) — Citgo Petroleum Corp this week named a former BP lawyer to take on the company’s top legal job as it faces creditors seeking to seize shares in the U.S.-based refiner over parent PDVSA’s debts. Jack Lynch, who spent 18 years working for BP in Houston, London and […]
Energy Cos Caught In Spat Over Venezuela Sanctions
(Chron, Sergio Chapa, 7.Oct.2019) — Frequent power outages, theft of equipment, a political tug-of-war and billions of dollars in losses would seem to signal to businesses that it’s time to get out of Venezuela. But energy companies with headquarters or major operations in Houston — including the oil major Chevron […]
Exxon Mobil Bars Use Of Oil Tankers Linked To Venezuela
(Reuters, Jonathan Saul and Collin Eaton, 4.Oct.2019) — Exxon Mobil Corp this week banned the use of vessels linked to oil flows from Venezuela in the last year, according to four people familiar with the matter, putting new pressure on the U.S. sanctioned country and on global crude freight rates. […]
Petrobras Reveals 3Q:19 Release Date
(Petrobras, 4.Oct.2019) — Petrobras reports that on October 17, after market closes, the company will release its quarterly production and sales report for 3Q19 and on October 24, also after market closes, it will disclose the financial statements report. On October 25 it will be held two conference calls/webcasts to […]
PdV Floods Cuba With Stranded Oil
(Argus, 3.Oct.2019) — At least three Venezuelan fuel tankers are heading towards Cuba today, part of a flotilla meant to free up domestic storage space while defying a US campaign to cut off Venezuela’s oil supply to its political ally. Up to 3mn bl of refined products and heavy crude […]
Brazil Approves 14 Firms For November Oil Tender
(Reuters, 30.Sep.2019) — Fourteen companies have been officially approved by Brazilian authorities to participate in an oil bidding round in November, in which total signing bonuses are expected to be the biggest so far, exceeding $25 billion, national oil regulator ANP said on Monday. As widely expected, the companies participating include […]
Ibank Jefferies Cuts Bankers As M&A Slows
(Reuters, Gary McWilliams and David French, 27.Sep.2019) — Jefferies Financial Group has laid off 15 people in its energy investment banking team, as the bank reacts to a slowdown of mergers and acquisitions activity among oil and gas companies, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. The job cuts […]
Guaido IDB Envoy Hausmann Resigns Post
(Argus, 26.Sep.2019) — Venezuela’s parallel administration headed by opposition leader Juan Guaido has lost its most prominent figure, former planning minister and Harvard professor Ricardo Hausmann. Hausmann, who recently hinted at repudiating some of Venezuela’s debt, had been serving as Guaido’s representative at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a Washington-based […]
IEnova Inks Solar Deal With Liverpool And Circle K
(Sempra, 26.Sep.2019) — Sempra Energy announced that its Mexican subsidiary, Infraestructura EnergĂ©tica Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova) (BMV: IENOVA), has signed two 15-year clean energy contracts with subsidiaries of Comercializadora CĂrculo CCK, S.A. de C.V. (Circle K18) and El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C.V. (Liverpool). These corporate contracts will […]
Pemex Announces Early Participation Results
(Pemex, 26.Sep.2019) — PetrĂłleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) announced the early participation results of (a) its offers to exchange any and all of its outstanding series of securities set forth in the table below under the heading “Any and All Offers” (collectively, the “Any and All Securities”, and such offers, the “Any […]
US Press Secretary Statement On Venezuela
(White House Press Secretary, 25.Sep.2019) — Today, President Donald J. Trump and other United States officials hosted leaders from Western Hemisphere countries to discuss the need for a democratic transition in Venezuela to resolve the prolonged political, economic, and humanitarian crisis caused by Nicolas Maduro and his regime. The United […]
Venezuela Oil Exports To Cuba Rising: Sources
(Reuters, Mircely Guanipa and Marianna Parraga, 25.Sep.2019) — Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA ordered an increase in exports to ally Cuba to ease fuel shortages on the island this month, challenging U.S. sanctions on shipping firms involved in the trade, according to three industry sources and Refinitiv Eikon data. The […]
US Targets Entities, Vessels Moving Venezuelan Oil To Cuba
(US Treasury, 24.Sep.2019) — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four entities that operate in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13850. Additionally, OFAC identified four vessels that transport oil and other petroleum products from Venezuela […]
US Actions Against Entities Assisting Venezuela
(US Treasury, 24.Sep.2019) — On September 24, the United States designated four companies that operate in Venezuela’s oil sector as sanctioned, and identified as blocked property four vessels associated with this activity. This action further targets Venezuela’s oil sector and the mechanisms used to transport oil to Nicolás Maduro’s Cuban […]
Maduro Plots Assembly Grab, Oil-For-Food Floated
(Argus, 24.Sep.2019) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s constitutional claim to the Opec country’s interim presidency could be undermined by today’s tumultuous return of the governing United Socialist Party (PSUV) to the National Assembly. Over 50 elected PSUV deputies entered the legislative chamber this morning for the first time since […]
Jinkosolar Invited To UN Climate Action Summit 2019
(JinkoSolar, 23.Sep.2019) — JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. has been invited to the UN Climate Action Summit 2019, which will be held at the UN headquarters in New York on September 23, 2019. To move forward on ambitious climate action globally, UN Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres has invited over 100 heads of […]
Argentina’s Vaca Muerta Comparable to Permian Basin
(Energy Analytics Institute, 4.Sep.2019) — “The massive Vaca Muerta formation is geologically comparable to the best US oil basins, particularly the Permian Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, and has the potential to join the ranks of the best oil plays in the world,” Exterran Vice President Federico […]
Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan Awarded Module Fabrication Contract
(McDermott, 17.Sep.2019) — McDermott International, Inc. announced that its joint venture Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd (QMW) in Qingdao, China, has been awarded a large* contract to provide three complex modules for the Arctic LNG 2 Project in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region in Russia. “This award recognizes QMW’s […]
Sur de Texas Marine Pipeline Achieves Commercial Operation
(IMG, 17.Sep.2019) — Infraestructura Marina del Golfo (IMG), a joint venture between TC Energy Corporation (TC EnergĂa) and Infraestructura EnergĂ©tica Nova (IEnova), announced commencement of the commercial operation of the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan (Sur de Texas) marine natural gas pipeline. With a transportation capacity of 2.6 billion cubic feet per […]
ExxonMobil Reports Tripeltail Find Offshore Guyana
(Exxon, 16.Sep.2019) — ExxonMobil made an oil discovery on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana at the Tripletail-1 well in the Turbot area. The discovery adds to the previously announced estimated recoverable resource of more than 6 billion oil-equivalent barrels on the Stabroek Block. Tripletail-1 encountered approximately 108 feet (33 meters) […]
Alaska Airlines Launches #FillBeforeYouFly
(Alaska Airlines, 12.Sep.2019) — Alaska Airlines today announced its #FillBeforeYouFly initiative to partner with guests and employees to continue reducing the use of single-use plastics inflight. The aim: rally with flyers to bring their own water bottle and fill it before they board. This is one of Alaska Airlines’ many […]
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, […]
Moody’s: PEMEX Ratings Close To Boundary
(Moody’s, 9.Sep.2019) — The credit ratings of a substantial number of energy companies in the Americas are currently near the “crossover zone,” or the boundary between investment grade and speculative grade, Moody’s Investors Service says in a new report. Only seven, however, are in the zone, with potential “rising stars” […]
Petrobras On Class Action Decision
(Petrobras, 6.Sep.2019) — Petrobras, following up on the disclosure made on June 25, 2018, reports that on August 30, 2019, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit confirmed the decision approving the agreement to settle the Class Action in the United States. As of today, the agreement is no […]
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 […]
Mexichem Unveils Business Transformation
(Mexichem, 5.Sep.2019) — Mexichem, S.A.B. de C.V. reached the next milestone in its human-centered transformation, unveiling its new corporate name, Orbia, and its commitment to purpose: to advance life around the world. Alongside the new purpose-driven approach, Orbia introduces an innovative new logo concept, the ImpactMark. This reflects a year-long […]
Exxon, Chevron See U.S. Shale Field Consolidation
(Reuters, 4.Sep.2019) — The two largest U.S. oil and gas companies on Tuesday left the door open for more acquisitions in the country’s top shale field. Exxon Mobil Corp expects to see industry consolidation to happen “over some period of time,” in the Permian Basin in west Texas and New […]
McDermott Announce First Cargo from Freeport LNG T1
(McDermott, 4.Sep.2019) — McDermott International, Inc. along with its partners, Chiyoda International Corporation and Zachry Group, announced today that the first commissioning cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been shipped from the Freeport LNG project on Quintana Island in Freeport, Texas. Feed gas was introduced into Freeport LNG Train […]
Cheniere Takes Delivery Of Bechtel-built Corpus Christi Train 2
(Cheniere, 4.Sep.2019) — Cheniere Energy and Bechtel have announced the substantial completion of Train 2 at the Corpus Christi Liquefaction (CCL) project. Cheniere is now operating seven Bechtel-built LNG trains at higher capacity than the nameplate rating on the U.S. Gulf Coast to deliver energy to their customers around the […]
Michelin Announces Theme For 20th Design Program
(Michelin, 30.Aug.2019) — Michelin North America will celebrate its 20th global design competition, Michelin Challenge Design, in 2020 by linking the past to the future of sustainable mobility. The 2020 Michelin Challenge Design Theme — Upcycle — will challenge the entrants to take inspiration from previously recognized works over the […]
BP Sells Alaska Business To Hilcorp In $5.6bn Deal
(WoodMac, 27.Aug.2019) — Speaking after BP announced the sale of its Alaska business to Hilcorp in a US$5.6 billion deal, Wood Mackenzie analyst Rowena Gunn said: “The Majors are making progress with their divestment campaigns. This will mean long-held assets and territories will be let go. BP made such a […]
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 […]