(Argus, 10.Dec.2021) — Venezuela's oil minister Tareck El Aissami returned to work this week after a prolonged medical leave and will not be replaced, a senior source close to the...
(Argus, 3.Nov.2021) — Venezuela is cranking up oil production in a reflection of the Opec country's moderate success in adapting to operational constraints imposed by prolonged US sanctions. Output has surpassed...
(Reuters, 22.Oct.2021) — The supervisory boards of Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum, racing to stave off a breakup of the eighth largest U.S. oil refiner, have held talks with U.S. officials in...
(Argus, 30.Sep.2021) — A Dutch court has dealt the latest blow to Venezuela's shrinking overseas portfolio that neither the Venezuelan government nor its political foes has succeeded in defending from...
(Argus, 23.Sep.2021) — ConocoPhillips stands out in Venezuela's vast universe of jilted creditors and claimants as a potential future commercial partner for state-owned PdV, a distinction that is driving aggressive...
(Argus, 8.Sep.2021) — Venezuela's abundant hydrocarbons are beckoning a new generation of investors, stepping in where more established companies are pulling out. Sucre Energy, a Netherlands-based and Spanish-registered private equity...
(Argus, 23.Aug.2021) — US refiner Citgo has been effectively cut off from its Venezuelan state-owned parent PdV since 2019, but it is still constrained by heavy debt while multiple creditors...
(Argus, 17.May.2021) — A Chinese tax overhaul threatens to orphan up to 400,000 b/d of Venezuelan heavy sour crude that has been a lifeline for Caracas since the US imposed...
(Argus, 12.Mar.2021) — Venezuelan state-owned PdV suspended gasoline production at its 305,000 b/d Cardon refinery this week as a result of more equipment breakdowns. Cardon was producing about 45,000 b/d...
(Argus, 14.Jan.2021) — Venezuela inched closer to losing control of its US refining subsidiary Citgo today after a federal judge began crafting a sale process for shares of its controlling...
(Argus, 10.Dec.2020) — PdV has restarted a crude distillation unit at its 190,000 b/d Puerto La Cruz refinery for the first time since 2017, but as with the Venezuelan state-owned...
(Argus, 7.Dec.2020) — Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly named another oil industry veteran to chair a shadow board of Venezuela's national oil company PdV. The key appointment comes on the eve...
(Argus, 1.Dec.2020) — Venezuelan state-owned PdV's crude production and exports have recovered in recent weeks as China resumed direct loadings and a tanker deficit the company blames on US sanctions...
(Argus, 28.Aug.2020) — Another Dutch Caribbean island is racing to safeguard and possibly sell Venezuelan fuel oil before a US sanctions window closes in December. Bonaire hosts Venezuelan state-owned PdV's...
(Argus, 26.Aug.2020) — Cuba is deepening power cuts as US sanctions on its main fuel supplier Venezuela make it harder for the island to keep its lights on. Venezuela's state-owned...
(Argus, 26.Aug.2020) — An estimated 25,000 bl of oil spilled along western Venezuela's coastline in recent weeks came from faulty heat exchangers at state-owned PdV's El Palito refinery, three officials...
(FT.com, 23.Aug.2020) — The country's oil industry was once the envy of the region, but after decades of mismanagement and corruption the sector is facing ruin. The FT's Andean correspondent...
(Argus, 18.Aug.2020) — A fuel oil cargo stuck off of the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao is about to be released to an unnamed buyer in a closely monitored transaction...
(Argus, 31.Jul.2020) — The government of Aruba received proposals to refurbish its refinery and develop alternative industries on the brownfield site. RdA, the state-owned asset holder, received 29 proposals out...
(Argus, 1.Jul.2020) — An "ad hoc" board of state-owned PdV that is a key part of US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido's parallel administration is running into political resistance in the...
(Reuters, 28.Jun.2020) — Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA has told independent gas station operators it can revoke their licences “at any time”, only weeks after it cut generous fuel subsidies...
(Argus, 10.Jun.2020) — Vessel tracking data shows a fleet of 44 international tankers on the water holding 40.5mn bl of Venezuelan oil as shipowners face growing risk of US sanctions...
(Argus, 10.Jun.2020) — The restart of an oil refinery in the US Virgin Islands is poised for another delay because of pandemic restrictions. The refinery was supposed to reopen in...
(Argus, 1.Jun.2020) — A two-tiered gasoline pricing system rolled out by Venezuela today maintains generous subsidies for limited volumes but allows private-sector operators to charge international prices for imports. The...
(Argus, 28.May.2020) — Luis Pacheco is chairman of a parallel board trying to exert control over the future of Venezuela's state-owned PdV. Appointed by the National Assembly led by opposition...
(Argus, 13.May.2020) — Venezuela's state-owned PdV has retained one seat on the new corporate board of European specialty refiner Nynas after a restructuring that freed the venture from US sanctions....
(Reuters, 13.May.2020) — The FBI is probing several Mexican and European companies allegedly involved in trading Venezuelan oil as it gathers information for a U.S. Treasury Department inquiry into possible...
(Argus, 8.May.2020) — A sweeping proposal to draw investment into an Opec nation would normally turn some heads. That is what Venezuela’s US-backed political opposition had been expecting when it...
(Oilprice.com, 29.Apr.2020) — Venezuela seems to be changing tactics when it comes to managing its oil resources. PDVSA is considering a major industry reform that would increase private company activities...
(Reuters, 28.Apr.2020) — The latest fire to erupt at one of Venezuelan state-owned PdV's oil installations has temporarily knocked out up to 130,000 b/d of heavy crude production from three...
(Argus, 27.Apr.2020) — The two Maduro loyalists who have been effectively running Venezuela's national oil industry for two months were officially appointed today as acting heads of the oil ministry...
(Argus, 16.Apr.2020) — The US is rethinking the premise behind its earlier decision to allow Chevron and other US and international firms to continue their presence in Venezuela, as it...
(Argus, 2.Apr.2020) — Venezuela's crude production partially recovered to around 700,000 b/d at the end of March, but state-owned PdV and its foreign partners cannot afford to dismiss weaker price...
(ABC News, 16.Mar.2020) — Nicolás Maduro’s government on Monday banned gasoline sales in two states as part of a broader lock-down to stem panic buying by Venezuelans accustomed to hoarding...
(Argus, 12.Mar.2020) — A presidential commission tasked with reorganizing Venezuela's state-owned PdV is sowing confusion among the oil company's joint venture partners over who is running the firm after chief...
(Argus, 10.Mar.2020) — Venezuelan state-owned PdV's PetroPiar joint venture with Chevron suspended upgrading operations following a pipeline explosion early today, three oil workers at the facility tell Argus. The plant...
(Argus, 9.Mar.2020) — Venezuelan state-owned PdV named a new head of its shipping unit following 38 arrests over alleged fuel theft. PdV Marina's new president is Cesar Vladimir Romero Salazar,...
(Argus, 20.Feb.2020) — Venezuela's embattled government is vowing to overhaul the national oil industry one day after the US administration sanctioned the Russian trading company that channels most Venezuelan crude...
(Argus, 11.Feb.2020) — Juan Guaido is finally returning to Caracas today, with a vow to dislodge the “usurper” so he and his team of exiles can Make Venezuela Great Again....
(Argus, 28.Feb.2020) — Venezuela's PdV has exhausted its storage capacity and is now considering digging open-air pits to hold swelling stocks that US sanctions are keeping off the export market,...
(Argus, 16.Jan.2020) — Venezuela kicked off the new year with at least 730,000 b/d of crude exports, led by several India-bound cargoes, according to local and international shipping data obtained...
(Argus, 13.Jan.2020 — Citgo, the US refiner that Venezuela's political opposition nominally wrested from the Opec country's national oil company PdV in 2019, is abandoning a refinery project in Aruba,...
(Argus, 20.Dec.2019) — PdV is leaning on joint-venture partners as it looks to continue a nascent crude output revival and live up to an improved economic outlook for 2020 The...
(Argus, Patricia Garip, 2.Dec.2019) — Venezuela's state-owned PdV struck a preliminary agreement with Curacao to hang on to the Isla refinery and Bullen Bay terminal for a transition period of...
(Argus, 27.Nov.2019) — Another prominent figure in Venezuela's US-backed parallel administration has abruptly departed and an oil union leader has quit the main opposition political party in the latest signs...
(Argus, 6.Nov.2019) — Venezuela is offering sweeter fiscal terms to Russia's state-controlled Rosneft for two offshore natural gas fields that are well-positioned to supply nearby Trinidad and Tobago, but the...
(Argus, 4.Nov.2019) — Spanish integrated firm Repsol further reduced its exposure to its upstream business in Venezuela in the third quarter thanks to a small provision and a rise in...
(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...
(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...
(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....
(Argus, 7.Oct.2019) — Senior managers of Venezuelan state-owned PdV's heavy crude-blending joint venture with Chinese state-owned CNPC were arrested late last week, days after the blending plant halted operations. PetroSinovensa...
(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...
(Miami Herald, Nora Gámez Torres and Michael Wilner, 24.Sep.2019) — Moscow has maintained communication with members of the Venezuelan opposition even as the Cuban government plans on “going down with...
(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...
(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...
(Argus, 11.Jun.2019) — Deadly street protests have erupted in Haiti following the publication of a court report alleging that recent governments mishandled about $2bn in oil-related credit from Venezuela. Seven...
(Argus, 9.Jun.2019) — A fire yesterday near state-owned PdV's 190,000 b/d Puerto La Cruz refinery killed at least three people. Civil emergency and Anzoategui state firefighting officials blamed the fire...
(Argus, 20.May.2019) — Venezuela's political opposition contracted with an international adviser to prepare for restructuring the country's external debt that is expected to exceed $150bn. Lee Buchheit, a specialist in...
(Argus, 14.May.2019) — Venezuela's crude production has dropped to around 500,000 b/d as sluggish export loadings and replete storage force state-owned PdV to shut in wells, four company officials tell...
(Argus, Patricia Garip, 10.Apr.2019) — Darkness has befallen Venezuela in more than one sense, and incumbent oil companies are scrambling for a ray of light. It was hard enough for...
(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...
(Reuters, Brian Ellsworth, 10.Aug.2018) – Crystallex’s victory in a legal battle with Venezuela that paves the way for it to collect a $1.4 billion award hinged on a finding that...
(Argus, 9.Aug.2018) – Venezuela's state-owned PdV and its joint ventures fell short of officially targeted crude production by more than 125,000 b/d in July, according to an internal PdV upstream...
(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...
(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...
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 15.Jun.2018) – A brief look at Lake Maracaibo’s descent into chaos. The Maracaibo basin has produced over 43 billion barrels of petroleum, and close to...
(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...
(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...
(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...