(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 2.Mar.2020) — In Caracas, and by unanimous decision of the founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) under the leadership and vision of the Venezuelan Juan Pablo PĂ©rez Alfonso, the organization adopted its statute at its second meeting held in January 1961. […]
Tag: OPEC
Venezuela, Rosneft and US Sanctions Complications
(S&P Global Platts, 18.Feb.2020) — US efforts to starve Venezuela’s Maduro regime of oil revenues have substantially increased the role of Russian energy in the US Gulf Coast, an outcome the Trump administration likely never anticipated when it put sanctions in place over a year ago. The situation has created […]
Brazil To Discuss OPEC With Saudi Arabia In July
(S&P Global Platts, 24.Jan.2020) — Brazil will discuss potential cooperation with OPEC on the sidelines of a Group of 20 event scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia later this year, the country’s Mines and Energy Ministry said in a statement this week. Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque will […]
Maduro Seeks Oil Contract Changes: Lawmakers
(Reuters, 8.Jan.2020) — Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party hopes legislators it recently declared to be in charge of congress will approve changes to ownership of some crucial state oil assets, five opposition lawmakers said on Wednesday. Pro-government legislators on Sunday declared little-known politician Luis Parra as the head of congress after […]
Ecuador Officially Exits OPEC
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 2.Jan.2020) — Ecuador officially exited the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC, effectively 1 January 2020. The small South American country plans to divert monies previously devoted to OPEC to activities such as exploration and exploitation with aim to boost domestic production of crude […]
Venezuela Is Quietly Ramping Up Oil Production
(Oilprice.com, 31.Dec.2019) — If anyone is to ever write a guidebook on political survival, the skills of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would certainly top the contemporary charts. This autumn went relatively well for the besieged leader as the political headlines drifted towards the US-China trade wars, OPEC+ production cuts and […]
PDVSA Touts Gasoline Delivery
(Reuters, 31.Dec.2019) — With an emoji of a flexing bicep, Venezuelan state oil company PetrĂłleos de Venezuela, S.A., or PDVSA, on Tuesday celebrated what was once a routine task in the OPEC nation: delivering gasoline. Acute gasoline shortages in much of Venezuela’s interior have in recent days reached the capital […]
EP PetroEcuador Ends Bajo Alto Plant Maintenance
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 26.Dec.2019) — A scheduled stoppage at the Bajo Alto Natural Gas Liquefaction Plant located in the El Guabo in the province of El Oro concluded on 24 December 2019 and the plant commenced operations again on 26 Dec. Work at the plant — which cost […]
EP PetroEcuador To Invest $700,000 In Pipe Replacement
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 22.Dec.2019) — EP PetroEcuador announced that technicians from the company will carry out installation of a new 5.6-kilometer stretch of pipeline tubing that transports Cutter Stock diluent used at the Las Esmeraldas Refinery. Work on the pipeline section will last an estimated ten months and […]
Traders Flock To Burgeoning Petrostate Guyana
(Bloomberg, Lucia Kassai, 13.Dec.2019) — Oil traders are packing their bags for a trip to the world’s newest petrostate — a place they know remarkably little about. At least half a dozen traders from Houston, Geneva and London are set to alight in tropical Guyana this weekend to bid on […]
Barkindo Says US Sanctions On Venezuela Unhealthy
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 10.Dec.2019) — OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo assured that unilateral sanctions imposed on member countries of the organization are unhealthy for the efficient functioning of the oil market. “The oil that Venezuela produces and exports belongs to the entire world. As a large oil producing […]
Venezuela Offers Suppliers Payment In Yuan
(Reuters, Mayela Armas, Corina Pons, 28.Nov.2019) — Venezuela’s government and its oil company PDVSA have offered to pay suppliers and contractors into accounts in China using the yuan currency, five people familiar with the matter said. The move made in recent months is the latest example of how Caracas has […]
Ecuador’s New Minister Eyes $6.9bn In Investments
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 22.Nov.2019) — Ecuador’s new oil minister JosĂ© Agusto announced the South American country continues with plans for another bid round, while he added the country has also attracted investor interest in a new refinery. Ecuador, which recently experienced weeks of protests related to a failed […]
Ecuador Names New Energy Minister
(Reuters, 19.Nov.2019) — Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno on Tuesday named a close ally as the new energy minister as the Andean nation seeks to boost oil production and expand its mining sector. Civil engineer Jose Agusto replaces Carlos Perez, who resigned last week for personal reasons. Agusto has previously worked […]
Brazil Targets Greek Tanker For Spill
(Argus, 1.Nov.2019) — Brazil is targeting a Greek-flagged tanker as the source of a catastrophic oil spill that has spread across the northeastern coast. Federal police say the Suezmax Bouboulina docked in Venezuela on 15 July before heading to Singapore with a stop in South Africa. Brazilians authorities have previously […]
Bolsonaro Wants Brazil In OPEC
(AAWSAT, Mosaed al-Zayani, 31.Oct.2019) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said Wednesday he was keen for his country to join OPEC, a move that would add the most significant new producer to the oil cartel for years. “I would personally like Brazil to become a member of OPEC,” Bolsonaro said at the Future […]
Bolsonaro Wants Brazil In OPEC
(Reuters, Stephen Kalin, Rania El Gamal, Alex Lawler, 30.Oct.2019) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday that he wants his country to join OPEC, a move that would add the most significant new producer to the oil cartel for years. The comments come ahead of a massive auction of […]
LatAmNRG Ecuador Briefs: Force Majeure Lifted
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 20.Oct.2019) — Heard on the street and LatAmNRG briefs related to EP PetroEcuador lifting force majeure and the programmed stoppage at the Esmeraldas Refinery. PetroEcuador Lifts Force Majeure (Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 20.Oct.2019) — EP PetroEcuador on Oct. 20 lifted force majeure, which had […]
Ecuador Resumes Exports After Protests
(Reuters, 20.Oct.2019) — Ecuadorean state oil company Petroecuador said on Sunday it is resuming crude exports after protests this month against government austerity measures forced it to declare a force majeure. Ecuador on Oct 9 halted crude sales and shut a crucial state oil pipeline because at least 20 fields […]
Drivers Pass Nearly A Week To Buy Fuel In Venezuela
(Reuters, Mariela Nava and Anggy Polanco, 15.Oct.2019) — Venezuelans in border areas are waiting up to six days to fill their cars and some report paying bribes to jump ahead in lines, signaling a return of crippling fuel shortages that have dogged the struggling OPEC nation for much of the […]
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 […]
CONAIE And CONFENIAE Comment On Indigenous Mobilization
(CONAIE, 8.Oct.2019) — Indigenous peoples across Ecuador have mobilized against the central government’s neoliberal policies and extractive practices, as have workers unions, student unions and a diverse group of civil society. Our civil disobedience has included marches, road blocks, and the detention of military and police personnel accused of violence […]
Ecuador’s Moreno Decries ‘Coup Attempt’ Amid Protests
(Reuters, Alexandra Valencia and Daniel Tapia, 7.Oct.2019) — Thousands of indigenous protesters marched into capital Quito on Monday in a fifth day of action against austerity measures that have sparked the worst unrest in years, prompting President Lenin Moreno to accuse opponents of attempting a coup. The protests erupted in […]
IMF Provides Update On Ecuador
(IMF, 2.Oct.2019) — The reforms announced yesterday by President Lenin Moreno aim to improve the resilience and sustainability of Ecuador’s economy and foster strong, and inclusive growth. The announcement included important measures to protect the poor and most vulnerable, as well as to generate jobs in a more competitive economy. […]
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 […]
Repsol Trading Wins Napo Oil Export Tender
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 4.Sep.2019) — Ecuador’s state oil company EP PetroEcuador awarded the export of 1,080,000 +/- 5% barrels of 17-degree API Napo crude oil to Repsol Trading S.A., which is dedicated to the refining and commercialization of hydrocarbons, and which offered a per barrel differential of (-3.17) […]
Ecuador Eyes New 300,000 b/d Capacity Refinery
(Reuters, 27.Aug.2019) — Ecuador is seeking private companies interested in building a new refinery on the OPEC nation’s coast with a capacity of up to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), a state official said on Tuesday. The government of President Lenin Moreno signed a decree authorizing the design, construction and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
Fuel Crisis Denting PdV Upstream Operations
(Argus, 18.Jun.2019) — Venezuela’s severe motor fuel deficit is starting to weigh on the Opec country’s crude production, as oil workers struggle to reach their jobs, and oil equipment and supplies fail to reach oil fields. The fuel crisis could push output below the May average of around 750,000 b/d, […]
Tempers Flare As Cash Starved Venezuela Starts To Ration Petrol At The Pumps
(AFP, 5.Jun.2019 ) — Maria Lopez complains about gasoline rationing that Venezuela — home to the world’s largest oil reserves — has started introducing in some areas to tackle extreme fuel shortages. “It’s a joke,” Lopez said. But for ordinary Venezuelans, it is a cruel joke without a punchline — […]
Venezuela Crude Oil Exports Sink In May
(Oilprice.com, Julianne Geiger, 5.Jun.2019) — Venezuela’s oil exports slumped in May as the sanctions levied by the United States staunched the flow of oil from the troubled Latin American country that is in the middle of a severe crisis, according to Refinitive Eikon data. Venezuela’s oil exports fell 17% in […]
LatAmNRG Ecuador Briefs: PetroAmazonas Deals, Drilling, Output, And Merger
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 20.May.2019) — Heard on the street and LatAmNRG briefs related to the Petroamazonas EP and contracts for $78.1 million with China’s CNPC And Sinopec, optimized drilling at Sacha and Coca Payamino, rising output during the first four months of 2019, secondary recovery efforts and the […]
Petroamazonas’ Production Peaked At 428,780 Boe/d In The First 4 Months Of 2019
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 19.May.2019) — Petroamazonas EP’s production of crude oil in the first four months of 2019 peaked at 428,780 barrels per day of equivalents, up 5.42% compared to average production of 406,738 barrels per day of equivalents at the close of 2018, the company announced 19 […]
Rising U.S. Oil Output Helps Fill Gap Left By Iran, Venezuela: IEA
(Reuters, Noah Browning, 15.May.2019) — The world will require very little extra oil from OPEC this year as booming U.S. output will offset falling exports from Iran and Venezuela, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. The IEA, which coordinates the energy policies of industrial nations, said Washington’s decision to […]
LatAmNRG Briefs: OPEC MOMR, EP PetroEcuador Import Awards
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 14.May.2019) — Heard on the street and LatAmNRG briefs related to OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report, EP PetroEcuador awards Trafigura deal to import 2,750,000 barrels of premium diesel, and EP PetroEcuador’s plans to open envelopes related to an award to import 2,250,000 barrels of diesel […]
Oil Tops $73/bbl Then Pares Gains As Venezuela’s Maduro Claims Support
(Reuters, Collin Eaton , 30.Apr.2019) — Oil prices rose on Tuesday above $73 a barrel but then eased off the session high after Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro said military leaders remained loyal to his government despite an attempted coup that could further threaten the OPEC producer’s oil exports. Prices rose […]
Finnish Refiner Neste Hit By Venezuela Oil Sanctions
(Reuters, Tarmo Virki, 26.Apr.2019) — Finnish biofuel producer and oil refiner Neste reported a bigger than expected fall in quarterly profit on Friday, with U.S. sanctions against Venezuela having curbed crude oil supply to its Nynas joint venture. First-quarter core operating profit fell 6 percent to 378 million euros ($421 […]
Venezuela’s Oil Industry Implosion Reaches Chevron
(Oilprice.com, Tsvetana Paraskova, 25.Apr.2019) — Massive blackouts in Venezuela in March and April have drastically reduced oil production at Chevron’s biggest oil joint venture in the country, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing data that it had compiled from company sources. Chevron holds a 30-percent stake in Petropiar, a joint venture […]
Venezuela’s April Crude Exports Rise To 955,000 b/d After Blackouts
(S&P Global Platts, 24.Apr.2019) — Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA is set to export 955,000 b/d of crude in April, up from 843,000 b/d in March, when several blackouts crippled export infrastructure, according to the company’s monthly export plan. Asian refiners are taking 786,000 b/d, or 82% of April’s shipments, up from […]
Venezuela Imports Crude For The First Time In Five Years
(Bloomberg, Lucia Kassai, 24.Apr.2019) — Oil production in Venezuela has dipped so low that the owner of the world’s largest reserves is importing crude for the first time in five years. The nation’s output fell below 1 million barrels a day to a 16-year low in March, amid rolling blackouts […]
Venezuela Seeks To Collect Some Oil Payments Via Rosneft
(Reuters, 19.Apr.2019) — The cash-strapped government is becoming increasingly reliant on the Kremlin. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has asked at least two of its clients to make payments for Venezuelan oil via Russian state energy giant Rosneft, as it comes under pressure from U.S. sanctions, according to a PDVSA […]
Indian Refiners Turn To OPEC, Mexico, U.S. To Make Up Iran Oil Gap
(Reuters, 18.Apr.2019) — All four Indian state-owned refiners that buy Iranian oil are confident of securing additional barrels from other producers, officials from the companies told Reuters. Indian refiners are increasing their planned purchases from OPEC nations, Mexico and the United States to make up for any loss of Iranian […]
Exclusive: Venezuela Skirts U.S. Sanctions By Funneling Oil Sales Via Russia
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, 18.Apr.2019) — President Nicolas Maduro is funneling cashflow from Venezuelan oil sales through Russian state energy giant Rosneft as he seeks to evade U.S. sanctions designed to oust him from power, according to sources and documents reviewed by Reuters. The sales are the latest sign of the […]
This New Oil Hotspot Is Replacing Venezuelan Crude
(Oilprice.com, Tsvetana Paraskova, 15.Apr.2019) — The U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry have tightened the global heavy to medium crude oil market, sending oil buyers scrambling for alternatives to the heavy Venezuelan oil. Refiners in the United States and Europe have started to replace Venezuela’s oil with some of […]
Ecuador’s Oil Production Climbs To 522 Mb/d In March 2019
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 8.Apr.2019) — Ecuador’s production of crude oil rose to 522 Mb/d in March 2019 compared to 519 Mb/d in February and 517 Mb/d in January 2019, the country’s Energy Ministry announced 8 April 2019 in a post on its twitter account. Of the amounts in […]
New U.S. Sanctions Seek To Block Venezuelan Oil Shipments To Cuba
(NYT, Annie Karni and Nicholas Casey, 5.Apr.2019) — The Trump administration announced on Friday its latest round of economic sanctions against the government of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, this time aimed at oil shipments between Venezuela and Cuba, a country that the administration has accused of propping up Mr. […]
Turkish Ship Company Is Transporting Venezuelan Crude
(Argus, 4.Apr.2019) — Turkey-based Gungen is one of a handful of shipowners that continues to transport Venezuelan crude oil after the US levied sanctions on the South American country’s state-owned oil company PdV in January. Most major oil tanker operators have turned away from Venezuelan crude because of legal, safety […]