Venezuela's PDVSA Freezes Most Oil Exports for Contract Reviews
The new head of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has suspended most oil export contracts while his team reviews them in a move to avoid payment defaults, according to an internal document seen by Reuters and people familiar with the matter.Since U.S. trading sanctions were first imposed on PDVSA in 2019, the company has increasingly resorted to little known middlemen to allocate its oil exports…
Coronavirus-related Inspections Delay Venezuelan Oil Exports
At least two cargoes of Venezuelan crude have been delayed due to health inspections aboard tankers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to an internal document from state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela seen by Reuters.The delays add to a growing glut of tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude that preceded the coronavirus crisis as U.S. sanctions spooked potential customers. With domestic onshore oil inventories approaching capacity…
Ven's Blackout Halts Oil Exports From Primary Port
Venezuela's state-run oil firm PDVSA has been unable to resume crude exports from its primary port since last week's massive power outage, essentially crippling the OPEC nation's principal industry, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.Power remained patchy in most of the country after a blackout on Thursday that the government of President Nicolas Maduro claimed was a U.S.-backed act…
PDVSA to Divert Tankers to Nearby Port after Collision
Venezuela's state-run PDVSA is organizing a contingency plan to address its latest oil-export problem following a minor accident last week at the country's main crude terminal, two sources from the firm told Reuters on Friday.A tanker collision that damaged Jose port's South dock and forced its closure has added to delays in loading crude for export, especially to customers such as Russia's Rosneft…
PDVSA Raises Prospect of Force Majeure on Oil Exports
OPEC member Venezuela has raised the prospect of declaring force majeure on contracts with major crude buyers amid plummeting output from its oil fields and tanker bottlenecks at ports, according to three sources familiar with the matter.Falling production from Venezuela has contributed to a rally in global oil prices to a near four-year high, and other OPEC members may boost output at a meeting…
Tankers Queue at PDVSA Ports as Delays Grow
An accumulation of tankers waiting to load around Venezuelan ports has grown in recent days as state-run oil company PDVSA struggles to deliver fuel oil for exports, according to traders and Reuters vessel tracking data. Venezuela is heavily dependent on oil exports. PDVSA's revenue represents more than 90 percent of the South American country's revenue in foreign currency. PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Venezuelan Crude Sales to US Fell 8% in April
Venezuelan crude sales to the United States declined 8.3 percent in April to 734,700 barrels per day (bpd) compared with the same month of 2015, amid delays at PDVSA's main ports, according to Thomson Reuters trade flows and vessel tracking data. State-run oil firm PDVSA and its joint ventures sent a total of 45 crude cargoes to customers in the United States last month versus 54 cargoes in April of 2015 and 52 in March.
Venezuelan Crude Sales to US Declined 7% in March
Exports of Venezuelan crude to the United States fell almost 7 percent in March versus the same month of 2015 to 793,581 barrels per day (bpd), according to Thomson Reuters Trade Flows data, affected by delays at the country's main oil port. Even though the sales recovered versus the previous two months, when they hit record lows, the increase was not enough to reach last year levels. State-run oil company PDVSA and its joint ventures sent 52 crude cargoes to the United States last month…
Latin America Outages Help Relieve Global Glut
From Peru to Brazil, a rash of unplanned outages at ports and pipelines and necessary maintenance work at oilfields is taking a bite out of global production, unexpectedly curbing a historic supply glut. Even though the disruptions are individually small, taken collectively they are helping slow an unprecedented global build-up of surplus crude stockpiles estimated at 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first half of 2016.
Algerian Tanker Arrives with Venezuela's First Crude Import
Oil tanker Carabobo, carrying Venezuela's first importation of crude oil, arrived late on Saturday at the Jose port, where it is scheduled to unload up to 2 million barrels of Algerian Saharan Blend to be used as a diluent for Venezuela's extra heavy crude, according to Reuters tanker tracking data. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
