(OilPrice.com, Nick Cunningham, 12.Aug.2018) â The bad news from Venezuela continues. In July, Venezuelaâs oil production came in lower than PDVSA had targeted, according to Argus Media. While PDVSA had hoped that it, along with its joint venture partners, would produce as much as 1.65 million barrels per day (mb/d) […]
Tag: PDVSA
Citgo Petroleum Company Profile
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 11.Aug2018) â Houston-based Citgo Petroleum Corporation is the refining arm of Venezuelaâs PetrĂłleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). What follows is a brief company profile. Citgo, a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Houston, refines, markets, and transports gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, lubricants, petrochemicals, and other […]
Crystallex Cuts Others In Line for Citgo Assets
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 11.Aug.2018) â Crystallex seems to have cut in line while there are many others already in line for CITGO assets and value. What follows are comments published by Venezuelan oil analyst Francisco Monaldi in a series of tweets related to the legal battle over CITGO: […]
Crystallex Wins Right To Tap Citgo For Compensation
(OilPrice.com, Irina Slav, 10.Aug.2018) â Canadian gold miner Crystallex was ruled the winner in a long-running case against Venezuela, which it has sued for the forced nationalization of its assets by the Hugo Chavez government. A U.S. federal judge this week awarded the miner the right to approach Venezuelaâs U.S. […]
PDVSA President Says Venezuela Production Stabilized
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 10.Aug.2018) â PDVSA President Manuel Quevedo assured that Venezuelan crude oil production had stabilized. Quevedo, who also serves as Venezuelaâs Petroleum Minister, said last week that âour production is approximately 1.5 million barrels a day for the first half of 2018.â Those remarks were made […]
PDVSA Cut Debt to Rosneft $400 Mln in Q2
(Neftegaz.RU, 10.Aug.2018) â According to Platts, Venezuelaâs state oil and gas company PDVSA cut its debt to Russiaâs top crude producer Rosneft by $400 million in the 2nd quarter to $3.6 billion as of the end of June, Rosneftâs 2nd-quarter results presentation showed this week. Rosneft agreed prepayment deals for […]
Venezuela Facing Compounding Oil Woes
(UPI, Daniel J. Graeber, 10.Aug.2018) â Though it holds the largest reserves of oil in the world, production levels put it only in the middle of the pack among OPEC member states. Venezuelan plans to stabilize crude oil production do little to address bottlenecks and the shortage of investments, an […]
PDVSA Appeals Ruling Regarding Citgo Seizure
(AFP, 10.Aug.2018) â Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA on Friday appealed a US court ruling that would allow a Canadian mining company to seize shares of PDVSA’s US-subsidiary Citgo in payment of a $1.2 billion debt. The case dates from 2011, when the Venezuelan government seized a mine Crystallex had […]
Venezuela’s Oil Sales to U.S. in July Below 500 Mb/d
(Reuters, 10.Aug.2018) â Venezuelaâs crude exports to the United States declined to 494,400 barrels per day (bpd) in July after rising the prior three months, showing the impact of asset seizures against state-run oil firm PDVSA, according to Thomson Reuters data. July was the first month crude exports fell below […]
Crystallex Court Win Against Venezuela Aided by Finding
(Reuters, Brian Ellsworth, 10.Aug.2018) â Crystallexâs 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 state oil company PDVSA is not separate from the Venezuelan government, court documents showed on Friday. The U.S. District Court […]
U.S. Judge Authorizes Seizure of Venezuelaâs Citgo
(The Wall Street Journal, Andrew Scurria and Julie Wernau, 9.Aug.2018) â A U.S. federal judge authorized the seizure of Citgo Petroleum Corp. to satisfy a Venezuelan government debt, a ruling that could set off a scramble among Venezuelaâs many unpaid creditors to wrest control of its only obviously seizable U.S. […]
Crystallex Can Go After Venezuela’s US Refineries
(Associated Press, 9.Aug.2018) â A Canadian gold mining company on Thursday won the right to go after Venezuela’s prized U.S.-based oil refineries and collect $1.4 billion it lost in a decade-old take-over by the late socialist President Hugo Chavez. Chief Judge Leonard P. Stark of the U.S. Federal District Court […]
PdV, Joint Ventures Miss Oil Targets
(Argus, 9.Aug.2018) â 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 report obtained by Argus. The steepest shortfalls were registered in the Orinoco heavy oil belt â long touted by the […]
Venezuela, Saudi Arabia Discuss Partnerships
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 8.Aug.2018) â Officials from both OPEC countries discussed existing energy partnerships during their meeting in Caracas. Venezuela was represented by its Petroleum Minister Manuel Quevedo, while Saudi Arabia was represented by its Ambassador to Venezuela Saad Bin Abdullah al Saad, reported PDVSA in an official […]
Helmerich & Payne Wins Right to Sue Venezuela
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 8.Aug2018) â U.S. drilling company Helmerich & Payne won a judgment from the U.S. Court of Appeal to sue Venezuela for the expropriation of the company’s investments in Venezuela. This was only a preliminary jurisdictional issue, not a money judgment, mind you — just the […]
Unsealing Crystallex/PDVSA Documents
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 8.Aug.2018) â Chief Judge Stark of the US Federal District Court in Delaware immediately agreed with our arguments calling out the abuse of sealing by Crystallex, Venezuela and PDVSA, writes Caracas Capital Markets Managing Partner Russ Dallen in an emailed note to clients. He entered […]
Venezuela Dodges Oil Asset Seizures
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, Mircely Guanipa, 7.Aug.2018) â Reuters) – Venezuelaâs state-run oil company PDVSA has limited the damage from an unprecedented slump in crude exports by transferring oil between tankers at sea and loading vessels in neighboring Cuba to avoid asset seizures. But the OPEC member nation is still fulfilling […]
Venezuelaâs Oil Production Turning a Corner?
(FoxBusinss, Leia Klingel, 7.Aug.2018) â Oil production by Venezuelaâs PDVSA may have started to improve, with the state-owned oil and gas producer reporting that production in the country is averaging 1.5 million barrels per day, as reported by Reuters. As reported by OilPrice.com, according to OPEC secondary sources, Venezuelaâs oil […]
Venezuela Is Oil Marketâs Bizarro World
(S&P Global Platts, Nastassia Astrasheuskaya, 7.Aug.2018) â Venezuela’s state oil and gas company PDVSA cut its debt to Russia’s top crude producer Rosneft by $400 million in the second quarter to $3.6 billion as of the end of June, Rosneft’s second-quarter results presentation showed Tuesday. Rosneft agreed prepayment deals for […]
US Abandons Sanctions to Avoid Owning Venezuela Collapse
(S&P Global Platts, Brian Shield, 7.Aug.2018) â Just more than a year ago, it was not a question of âifâ, but âwhen.â As Venezuelaâs leftist leader Nicolas Maduro consolidated power in an election derided as a fraud by the international community, the Trump administration readied exacting sanctions on the South […]
Venezuela Waiving All Taxes on Profits from PDVSA
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 7.Aug2018) â Aside from wasting paper, more importantly, the recent Gaceta Oficial in Venezuela also has a decree from President Nicolas Maduro waiving all taxes on profits from state oil company PDVSA and the joint ventures for all of 2018. Interestingly, the decree seeks to […]
How Venezuela Gets Plundered
(DW.com, Andreas Knobloch, 6.Aug.2018) â A money-laundering scandal involving Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA could turn into a problem for a Swiss bank. A German banker recently affiliated with the lender has been arrested in Miami. When it comes to the causes behind the severe economic and supply crisis in […]
How Far Can Venezuela Go In Raising Gas Price?
(AFP, Esteban Rojas, 5.Aug.2018) â In Venezuela’s inflation-hit economy, a single US dollar can buy 3.5 million liters of gasoline — an absurdity that the government says it will tackle with a hike in the cost of state-subsidized fuel. But just how far can President Nicolas Maduro go without getting […]
Citgo Raises $$750,000 for Muscular Dystrophy Association
(Citgo Petroleum Corporation, 31.Jul.2018) â The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) depends on partnerships to fulfill their mission, and as their largest corporate sponsor, Citgo Petroleum Corporation hosts the annual MDA Driving for a Cure golf outing for employees and contractors from the Citgo Lemont Refinery. This year, on June 26, […]
Venezuela the Clear Leader in Oil Reserves
(UPI, Daniel J. Graeber, 31.Jul.2018) â An annual review of energy trends from Italian energy company Eni found the United States is a “game changer,” though its Venezuela with the largest reserves. In a report running nearly 90 pages, the Italian company’s 17th annual review found total oil reserves declined […]
Once Oil Wealthy, Maracaibo Struggles to Keep Lights On
(Reuters, Mayela Armas, 31.Jul.2018) â Across Maracaibo, the capital of Venezuelaâs largest state, residents unplug refrigerators to guard against power surges. Many only buy food they will consume the same day. Others regularly sleep outside. The rolling power blackouts in the state of Zulia pile more misery on Venezuelans living […]
US Charges Point to Rampant Corruption at PDVSA
https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/us-charges-point-to-rampant-corruption-at-venezuela-state-oil-company/ (InSight Crime, 30.Jul.2018) â US authorities are charging a network of Venezuelan elites and international financial actors with laundering over a billion dollars stolen from the state-owned oil company, illustrating once again how corruption has ransacked the South American country, and why it can be considered a mafia state. […]
Venezuela Inflation to Hit 1 Mln Percent. Thanks, Socialism.
(Washington Post, Megan McArdle, 27.Jul.2018) â According to the International Monetary Fund, by the end of the year, the annual inflation rate in Venezuela will reach 1Â million percent. A number like that is hard to grasp. Simply put, a candy bar that cost $1 today would cost $10,000 at the […]
Venezuela Gasoline Price Likely to Rise
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 27.Jul.2018) â The price of gasoline in Venezuela is likely to increase. For some services such as gasoline, there will be a relative increase in price, reported the daily newspaper El National, citing EcoanalĂtica Director AsdrĂșbal Oliveros. âIt’s as if they were decreeing an unannounced […]
Falling Oil Output Squeezes Maduro Government
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 27.Jul.2018) â The continued decline in Venezuelaâs oil production acts to squeeze the government of President Nicolas Maduro, says an Ecoanalitica executive. âThe fall in oil production puts more restriction on the government,” said Ecoanalitica Director Asdrubal Oliveros during an interview with Shirley Varnagy on […]
Machado Says PDVSA Converted into âJunkâ
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 25.Jul.2018) â PDVSA has been converted into âjunk or scrapsâ by the administration of the current Venezuelan president. Thatâs according to statements from Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Her statements were made during a meeting with local media and posted to her twitter account […]
Former Cerro Negro Workers Still Seek Payment
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 23.Jul.2018) â It has been 11 years and the 7,000 direct and indirect Venezuelan workers of US oil company Exxon Mobil still havenât received their social benefits or other liquidations. Those payment were assumed by the government of late Venezuelan President Hugo ChĂĄvez when his […]
Oil, Electric Sectors to Join Venezuelan Strike
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 23.Jul.2018) â Representatives from trade unions from the oil, electricity, food, education and health sectors announced plans to join a national strike called by opposition political parties, businessmen, unions, churches and other sectors of society in Venezuela. âThe governments of Hugo ChĂĄvez and NicolĂĄs Maduro […]
Union Official Demands Release of PDVSA Workers
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 23.Jul.2018) â The four workers are being held in detention due to accusations they caused a petroleum spill in the Guarapiche River in Monagas state. Their arrest is âthe straw that broke the camel’s back,â reported the daily newspaper El Nacional, citing oil union official […]
Venezuela Thermal Plants at 25-30% of Capacity
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 23.Jul.2018) â Venezuelaâs thermal generation plants in Caracas are only operating at 25% to 30% of capacity, and units 7, 8 and 9 of the Tacoa plant in Vargas state are halted due to damage. The situation in other parts of this OPEC country, such […]
Ex-Venezuelan Energy Official Pleads Guilty
(AP, 20.Jul.2018) â A former official at a state-run electric company in Caracas, Venezuela, pleaded guilty on Monday to money laundering conspiracy relating to an alleged multibillion-dollar graft scheme in the Venezuelan oil industry. Luis Carlos de Leon-Perez, a 42-year-old dual citizen of the United States and Venezuela, admitted his […]
Venezuela Facing ‘Economic Collapse’, IMF Warns
(AFP, 18.Jul.2018) â Venezuela is in a state of âeconomic collapseâ with hyperinflation not seen since the middle of the last century, the International Monetary Fund said Monday. Despite higher oil prices that are benefiting most exporting nations, the IMF sees a worsening contraction of the economy, which in April […]
U.S. Revokes Visa of Citgo CEO
(Bloomberg, Lucia Kassai and Fabiola Zerpa, 18.Jul.2018) â Being a blood relative of Hugo Chavez used to open doors. Now Asdrubal Chavez, cousin of the late Venezuelan socialist leader, is finding out it can close some as well. In the most recent blow against Venezuela, the U.S. revoked the visa […]
Venezuela Claims It Plans To Raise Oil Production
(OilPrice.com, Tsvetana Paraskova, 17.Jul.2018) â Venezuelaâs Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo has discussed plans with state-held oil company PDVSA to raise the countryâs crude oil production in the second half of the year. While Venezuela and its struggling oil firm claim that they are revising their production planning in order to […]
Why Is Venezuela Still Sending Subsidized Oil To Cuba?
(OilPrice.com, Haley Zaremba, 17.Jul.2018) â In the past, oil has accounted for 96 percent of Venezuela’s exports and over 40 percent of government revenues. Now, as the nationâs economy continues to crumble amid sanctions, political strife, and low oil prices, the Venezuelaâs all-important oil production is plummeting. In fact, last […]
How Venezuela Struck It Poor
(Foreign Policy, 16.Jul.2018) â The tragic â and totally avoidable â self-destruction of one of the worldâs richest oil economies. In the spring of 1959, at a secretive meeting at a yacht club in Cairo, Venezuelaâs then-minister of mines and hydrocarbons, Juan Pablo PĂ©rez Alfonso, hatched a plan to give […]
Ex-Venezuelan Energy Official Pleads Guilty
(AP, 16.Jul.2018) â A former official at a state-run electric company in Caracas, Venezuela, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy relating to an alleged multibillion-dollar graft scheme in the Venezuelan oil industry. Luis Carlos de Leon-Perez, a 42-year-old dual citizen of the United States and Venezuela, admitted his role in […]
Venezuelaâs Maduro Introduces Petro in Turkey
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 14.Jul.2018) â Venezuelaâs President NicolĂĄs Maduro introduced âel petroâ during a presentation in Turkey. Maduro reiterated that the Petro crypto-currency is based or backed by an entire block located in Hugo Chavez Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt, or the Faja, which contains more than five billion […]
Venezuela, Turkey Discuss Oil Supply
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 14.Jul.2018) â Venezuelaâs President NicolĂĄs Maduro announced the two countries could soon sign a new oil agreement. âA new agreement thereon shall be signed pretty soon,â reported PDVSA in an official statement, citing Maduro. No specifics were provided in the statement. ***
Machado Says Venezuela âShow Canât Go Onâ
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 13.Jul.2018) â Opposition leader MarĂa Corina Machado said the âshow canât go onâ during a video broadcast from Punto Fijo. The leaderâs video in reaction to a recent oil spill at PDVSA that the state oil company blamed on workers. El âshowâ NO PUEDE continuar. […]
No End In Sight For Venezuelaâs Oil Crisis
(OilPrice.com, Nick Cunningham, 12.Jul.2018) â Venezuelaâs oil production plunged by another 47,500 barrels per day (bpd) in June, compared to a month earlier. An exodus of workers and field shut downs were reported for the month, pointing to a grim near-term future that could see total production dip below 1 […]
PDVSA Gas Replaces Section of Gas Pipeline
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 11.Jul.2018) â PDVSA Gas announced completion of work on the Cariaco-Margarita Wharf section of the Northeast G / J Gas JosĂ© Francisco BermĂșdez pipeline. Work on the section entailed removing and replacing a 48 meter long section of the 16-inch diameter pipeline that transports natural […]
JusepĂn Oil Spill Demonstrates PDVSA Safety Failures
(Maritime Herald, 9.Jul.2018) â The oil spill that occurred this Friday, July 6 in two tanks of the secondary recovery plant of the JusepĂn Operational Complex of Pdvsa, demonstrates the safety failures of the Venezuelan state industry. This is what the biologist, Alejandro Ălvarez Iragorry, considers that what happened for […]
Quevedo Prays for Higher Venezuelan Output
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 8.Jul.2018) â Venezuelaâs Oil Minister General Manuel Quevedo prayed to God in search of divine assistance to boost Venezuelaâs oil production. The prayer was made by Quevedo during his participation in a special mass held at the headquarters of PDVSA and Venezuelaâs Oil Ministry in […]
China Gives New Life to Venezuela Despite US’ Ire
(Sputnik News, 5.Jul.2018) â China is lending its helping hand to Venezuela to stabilize the country’s oil sector, analysts told Sputnik, adding that Beijing’s economic activities in Latin America are apparently getting on Washington’s nerves. China is about to breathe new life into Venezuela’s collapsing oil sector regardless of Washington’s […]