Tag: refinery
Venezuela’s Refinery Woes Send Fuel Imports Soaring -Internal Documents
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, 6.Dec.2018) — Venezuela this month plans to import over 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of refined products to ease domestic fuel shortages caused by hobbled refineries and need to prioritize exports, according to internal documents seen by Reuters. The country with the world’s largest crude reserves this […]
Without Gas For Cremation, Even Dying Is A Struggle In Venezuela
(Reuters, Mayela Armas and Mariela Nava, 5.Dec.2018) — Angelica Vera of Venezuela’s western state of Zulia planned to cremate her father’s remains after he died of cancer in November because hyperinflation has pushed the cost of funeral services beyond her financial reach. But the cemetery could not offer a cremation […]
Petrotrin Settles Debts, Fights Sabotage
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Carla Bridglal, 1.Dec.2018) — Termination and other exit payments owed to Petrotrin’s workers as part of a $2.7 billion compensation settlement have finally started appearing in bank accounts and will continue to be processed throughout the weekend. The disbursement of funds began on Friday – also […]
LatAmNRG Panorama 28.Nov.2018: Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin and Piero Stewart, 28.Nov. 2018) — Heard on the street and other LatAmNRG briefs from Mexico, OPEC producers Ecuador and Venezuela, and Peru. Heard On The Street And Briefs Saudi Arabia Boosting Oil Output As Venezuela’s Falls Saudi Arabia is said to have slightly boosted […]
Venezuela Makes Multimillion-dollar Payment To Retain Citgo
(Houston Business Journal, Olivia Pulsinelli, 28.Nov.2018) — Houston-based refiner Citgo Holding Inc. will remain owned by Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PetrĂłleos de Venezuela SA, if PDVSA follows through with the terms of a settlement. According to multiple reports, the settlement will resolve an arbitration claim from Crystallex International Corp., a […]
Ecopetrol Eyes Investments Of $3.5-$4 Billion In 2019
(Ecopetrol, 27.Nov.2018) — Ecopetrol S.A. reported that in 2019 the Ecopetrol Business Group (GEE) expects to invest between $3.5 and $4billion, up 16% to 33% over the projected 2018 figure. The plan approved by the Board of Directors aims to ensure the company’s strategy of growth and consolidation, with efficient, […]
Ecopetrol Reveals Highlights Of Investment Plan 2019
(Ecopetrol, 27.Nov.2018) —The Ecopetrol Business Group (GEE) expects investment in 2019 of $3.5 billion to $4 billion, up 16% to 33% over the projected 2018 figure, according to Colombia’s state oil company Ecopetrol. Investment Plan Highlights — The investment plan approved by the Board of Directors focuses on maintaining the […]
$1.4 Billion Deal Allows Venezuela To Keep Citgo’s Three U.S. refineries
(Houston Chronicle, Sergio Chapa, 26.Nov.2018) — A payment on a $1.4 billion arbitration award to a Canadian gold mining company is allowing Venezuela to keep ownership of Citgo Petroleum’s three U.S. refineries — at least through January. The Venezuelan government recently paid Toronto-based Crystallex International Corp. $425 million as part […]
Venezuela Hangs On To Citgo After Big Debt Payment
(Fox Business, Mike Obel, 26.Nov.2018) — Venezuela managed to retain ownership of Citgo, the big U.S. refining and gasoline marketing company that is one of its few remaining sources of hard currency, according to a report. In August, Canadian mining company Crystallex International got a court order authorizing the sale […]
TT Budget On Oil Price Swing
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Carla Bridglal, 22.Nov.2018) — Crude oil’s importance to the TT economy is now second to natural gas, but its contribution is by no means miniscule — estimated to be 6.8 per cent of GDP in 2018 — and so the country should at least be monitoring […]
Venezuela Fuel Shortages Get Worse As Tanker Staff Flee
(Bloomberg, Fabiola Zerpa, 21.Nov.2018) — Venezuela’s fuel shortages are worsening as mass resignations at the state oil company’s tanker fleet have delayed gasoline shipments. Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s refineries are running at less than a quarter of their capacity, forcing the country to rely on imported gasoline. Once the cargoes […]
Trinidad Government Defends Guarantee To Petrotrin
(CMC, 16.Nov.2018) — The Trinidad and Tobago government Wednesday said it provided guarantees of more than US$400 million to the cash-strapped oil company, Petrotrin, to meet its financial and other obligations so far this year. Finance Minister Colm Imbert told legislators that as a result of the guarantee, the public […]
EP Petroecuador To Open Envelopes For Diesel No. 2 Tender
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 13.Nov.2018) — EP Petroecuador will open envelopes today related to the import of 3,120,000 barrels (plus or minus 2%) of No. 2 Diesel Oil No. Approximately 36 companies qualified for the tender through registration via EP Petroecuador’ Suppliers Registry of the International Trade Management, the […]
Fuel Shortages The New Norm In Venezuela As Oil Industry Unravels
(Reuters, Tibisay Romero, Deisy Buitrago, 13.Nov.2018) — With chronic shortages of basic goods afflicting her native Venezuela, Veronica Perez used to drive from supermarket to supermarket in her grey Chevrolet Aveo searching for food. But the 54-year-old engineer has abandoned the practice because of shortages of something that should be […]
Pampa Energia Curbs Polystyrene, Styrene Butadiene Rubber Output On Demand
(S&P Global Platts, Bernardo Fallas, 13.Nov.2018) — Argentina-based energy company Pampa Energia is cutting polystyrene and styrene butadiene rubber production amid lackluster demand in Argentina and barriers to export, two company sources said Monday on the sidelines of the 38th Latin American Petrochemical Association meetings in Cancun. Pampa expects to […]
Work On Modernization Of Talara Refinery Reaches 71% Mark
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 12.Nov.2018) — Construction of the Talara refinery in PerĂş continues. Modernization work at the refinery — which is comprised of 16 processing units and 5 auxiliary units — is 70.94% complete, PetroPerĂş reported in an official statement on its website. Work completion will increase the […]
Is Your Gasoline Burning Out Faster?
(Trinidad Express, Sandhya Santoo, 7.Nov.2018) — Is super gasoline burning faster? This is the claim by some motorists who are insisting that the fuel is burning faster, leading to lower mileage per litre and higher costs. And many taxi drivers say that the Super gasoline is causing economic hardship. Some […]
Ecopetrol Business Group Reports 3Q:18, Year-To-Date 2018 Results
(Ecopetrol S.A., 31.Oct.2018) — Ecopetrol S.A. announced the Business Group’s financial results for the third quarter and year-to-date 2018, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards applicable in Colombia. The figures included in this report are not audited. Financial information is expressed in billions of Colombian pesos (COP) or […]
Petrotrin Moves Against Land Grabbers
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Azard Ali, 29.Oct.2018) — Starting today, Petrotrin will employ measures to stop people from grabbing its lands. The state-owned refinery is expcted to cease operations on November 30, and transfer its assets into new companies being set up. Even as it does so, it now faces […]
Venezuela’s Hydrocarbon Sector Incurring Weekly Accidents
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 28.Oct.2018) — Petroleum sector accidents and oil spills in Venezuela have become an almost regular occurrence. Between two and three accidents are happening each per week in PDVSA operational areas as well as a similar number of oil spills, reported the daily newspaper El Nacional, […]
Venezuela: Oil Producer’s Slump Reflects Nation’s Decline
(Ft.com, Gideon Long, John Paul Rathbone, 28.Oct.2018) — Gideon Long in Caracas and John Paul Rathbone in Washington October 28, 2018 Print this page 95 In the lobby of the building where Iván Freites works, a photograph of an oil rig covers one wall. Emblazoned across it is the Venezuelan […]
Venezuela To Make $949mn Bond Payment To Keep Citgo Assets
(OilPrice.com. Tsvetana Paraskova, 26.Oct.2018) — Although Venezuela is regularly delaying or avoiding bond payments and is behind on billions of U.S. dollars in such payments, it is preparing to make a rare US$949-million payment on one bond, because that bond is backed by a stake in its key U.S. asset, […]
PDVSA Distillation Units At CardĂłn Refinery Halted
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 25.Oct.2018) — Four distillations units at PDVSA’s Cardón refinery, located in Falcón state, are said halted due to a lack of oil and power failures, reported the daily newspaper El Nacional. Cardón refinery has a processing capacity of 310,000 barrels per day. ***
Bondholders Raise Hopes Venezuela Will Pay Up On Due Debt
(Ft.com, Gideon Long, 25.Oct.2018) — In a month in which emerging market government bonds have been hammered by the prospect of US rate increases, geopolitical risk and fears of a US-China trade spat, one bond — in crisis-racked Venezuela of all places — has rallied to record highs. The 2020 […]
PDVSA Prepares To Make $949 Mln Payment On Citgo-Backed Bond
(Bloomberg, 24.Oct.2018) — Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s plan to make a $949 million bond payment would mark a rare exception for Nicolas Maduro’s regime as it tries to hold on to the crown jewel of its U.S. assets. Venezuela’s state-run oil company is preparing to make the coupon and partial […]
Pemex Designates Four Shipments to Import Light Crude Oil
(Pemex, 22.Oct.2018) — PetrĂłleos Mexicanos evaluated several proposals for shipments to supply light crude oil, in accordance to the parameters established by Pemex TransformaciĂłn Industrial (Pemex Industrial Transformation). As a result, PMI assigned four shipments of 350,000 barrels each for the import of Bakken light crude oil, which will be […]
Bolivian Refineries Cover 71.4% Of Domestic Demand for Special Gasoline
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 19.Oct.2018) — Production of special gasolines from Bolivia’s three existing refineries isn’t sufficient to cover the country’s demand. Domestic supply only covers 71.4% of domestic market demand, down 2% compared to 2017, and down 5% between January and May of the current year, reported the […]
Petrobras and CNPC Define Business Model For COMPERJ, Marlim Partnership
(Hydrocarbon Engineering, Alex Hithersay, 18.Oct.2018) — Petrobras has announced that it has signed an integrated project business model agreement (IPBMA) with China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Co. (CNODC), a subsidiary of CNPC, advancing towards their strategic partnership, as disclosed to the market on July 4, 2018. The […]
Trinidad Government Announces New Company For Refinery Assets
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Carla Bridglal, 18.Oct.2018) The government has announced a new state company, Guaracara Refining Company, into which the assets of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery will be placed. The refinery is scheduled to be shuttered by next month, and after the assets have been transferred to Guaracara, the company […]
Mexico’s Next Government Faces Bind In Pemex Ethane Deal
(Reuters, Diego OrĂ©, 17.Oct.2018) — Mexico’s incoming government will soon inherit a costly dilemma over an ethane supply contract between national oil company Pemex and a consortium led by a unit of Brazilian builder Odebrecht. Under the contract’s terms, Pemex has had to supply ethane well below current market prices. […]
Mexico’s Salina Cruz Refinery Normal After Electrical Accident: Pemex
(Reuters, 17.Oct.2018) — Mexico’s Salina Cruz oil refinery is operating normally after three people were injured in an electrical accident, a spokesman for state oil company Pemex said on Wednesday. The 330,000 barrel-per-day capacity facility, Pemex’s largest, had a short-circuit on Tuesday evening that sparked flames, the spokesman said. *** […]
Pemex Seeks Up To 2.1 MMbbls Of U.S. Bakken Crude -Traders
(Reuters, 17.Oct.2018) — Mexico’s state-run oil company Pemex received bids this week for up to six 350,000-barrel cargoes of U.S. Bakken crude it wants to import from November through December, according to traders with knowledge of the tender. This is Pemex’s second attempt to import U.S. light oil mostly for […]
Mexico And Brazil’s Crude Politics
(Foreign Policy, Lisa Viscidi, .16.Oct.2018) — A potential return to resource nationalism could set both countries back. Until this year, resource nationalism—when a government asserts its control over a country’s natural resources—seemed to be on the wane in Latin America. With oil prices low, state oil companies were struggling, and […]
Venezuela Solicits Audit of Pacific Coast Refinery, RĂo Napo
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 13.Oct.2018) — Venezuela has solicited an audit of costs related to the Pacific Coast Refinery and RĂo Napo JV in order to discuss potential investment plans with Ecuador, reported the daily Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo. In May 2018, Saudi Arabia’s Aramco announced it was interested […]
Costa Rica Crime Groups Diversifying Oil Theft Techniques
(InSight Crime, Parker Asmann, 10.Oct.2018) — The ways in which gangs of fuel thieves in Costa Rica are tapping oil pipelines in order to steal and later resell the good are growing increasingly sophisticated, providing further evidence of the growing strength of criminal groups in the Central American nation. What […]
Citgo, Valero Drive Up U.S. Purchases of Venezuelan Oil in September
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, 4.Oct.2018) — Venezuela’s September crude sales to the United States rose to their highest in over a year, boosted by purchases by Citgo Petroleum, the U.S. refining arm of Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA, and Valero Energy, according to Refinitiv Eikon trade flows data. A collision in August at […]
Trinidad Government Defends Decision To Close Petrotrin
(CMC, 3.Oct.2018) — The Trinidad and Tobago government Monday reiterated its position that it was necessary to close down the refinery of the state-owned oil company, Petrotrin, insisting that the company was losing billions of dollars (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) annually. Finance Minister Colm Imbert, delivering the TT$51.7 billion budget […]
Mexico’s President-Elect AMLO Commits to Respect Oil Contracts
(Renaissance Oil Corp., 2.Oct.2018) — Renaissance Oil Corp. announced that Mexico’s president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who will take office on December 1, 2018, assured private energy executives on September 27, 2018 that their contracts will not be canceled if they meet existing terms. During the meeting with AMEXHI, Mexico’s […]
Pemex to Import U.S. LLS Crude for Oct Delivery
(Reuters, 1.Oct.2018) — Mexico’s state-run Pemex has launched a tender to buy 350,000 barrels of U.S. Light Louisiana Sweet (LLS) crude for October delivery, according to a document seen by Reuters on Monday, a deal that marks the first crude imports in over two decades. Pemex, which plans to use […]
Oil Workers Protest Pay in Venezuela
(Bloomberg, 1.Oct.2018) — Venezuelan oil workers protested against a new minimum wage at key crude processing facilities last week, claiming the new law disregards previous pay scales and union agreements. Several dozen workers protested outside Petropiar, the oil upgrader controlled by Petroleos de Venezuela SA and Chevron Corp. in Anzoategui […]
$2.6 Billion to Close Petrotrin Refinery
(LoopTT, Darlisa Ghouralal, 1.Oct.2018) — Severance packages for retrenched Petrotrin workers are expected to cost the State in the region of $2.6 billion. Finance Minister Colm Imbert made the announcement based on initial estimates as he delivered the 2018/2019 fiscal package in Parliament on Monday. State-owned oil company Petrotrin began its […]
Trinidad Energy Chamber, Petrotrin Officials Discuss Refinery Closure
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 30.Sep.2018) — Members of the Energy Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago and a Petrotrin transition team meet to discuss issues related to closure of the Petrotrin refinery, among others energy related issues. The officials discussed the impending closure of the Petrotrin refinery, located Pointe-Ă -Pierre, and […]
Mexico Must Double Oil Exploration Spending to Halt Output Fall: Pemex
(Reuters, Marianna Parraga, David Alire Garcia, 28.Sep.2018) — Mexico will need to double to about $4 billion its annual oil exploration investment to reverse a 14-year decline in output, a move that will require more funding by Pemex and private producers, a top official with the state-run firm said Friday. […]
Pemex to Begin Importing US Crude in H2 October: CEO
(S&P Global Platts, Daniel Rodriguez, 27.Sep.2018) — Pemex plans to begin importing light crude from the US Gulf Coast in the second half of October, CEO Carlos Trevino told S&P Global Platts. The imports will enable Pemex to raise its total crude processing to 700,000 b/d-800,000 b/d in the final […]
EP PetroEcuador controls fire at Esmeraldas refinery AOV 14 tank
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 27.Sep.2018, Words: 91) — Today at approximately 12:10 pm a fire was reported at the Esmeraldas Refinery AOV 14 Asphalt tank.
Khan: No Fuel Supply Disruption
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Julien Neaves, 26.Sep.2018) — Energy Minister Franklin Khan has assured there would be no disruption in fuel supply to the travelling public with the closure of the Petrotrin Refinery next Monday. Khan was responding to a question in the House yesterday from Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee […]
PetroTal Provides Update On Peruvian Blocks 95 and 107
(PetroTal Corp., 26.Sep.2018) — PetroTal Corp. is increasing production from the Bretaña oil field on Block 95, as well as evaluating the Osheki prospect in Block 107. Key highlights from the fields follows: — Bretaña oil field (Block 95): – One of the largest undeveloped discoveries in Peru – First […]
Pemex Plans up to 100,000 b/d of Light Crude Imports, Says CEO
(Reuters, David Alire Garcia, Marianna Parraga, 26.Sep.2018) — Mexican state-run oil company Pemex expects to begin importing up to 100,000 barrels per day of light crude oil, likely from the United States, from late October and at least until the end of November, its chief executive said on Wednesday. “A […]
Petrobras Cuts Gasoline Refinery Price After Pump Record
(Reuters, 24.Sep.2018) — Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Monday that it would cut the average price of gasoline at its refineries by 0.59 percent after pump prices hit record levels in the country last week. Petrobras, as the company is known, said the price reduction to […]