15 Bids in To Market Guyana Governent Crude
Guyana received bids from 15 different companies aiming to market the government's share of the crude produced off the South American country's coast, according to Guyana's National Procurement and Tender Board Administration website on Wednesday.The government re-launched the search last month after a previous tender was discarded. Bids were due on Aug. 3, and companies were asked to indicate the commission they would charge per barrel of crude exported.
PDVSA Changes Oil Deals to Include Shipping as Sanctions Bite
Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA has begun offering to ship its own oil, figuring in the costs in crude supply deals to help customers who have struggled to hire vessels to carry the country’s oil due to U.S. sanctions, according to company documents seen by Reuters.The United States has blacklisted vessel owners, shipping operators and threatened to sanction any tanker facilitating the country’s oil exports as it tightens restrictions on trade with…
Guyana Received $4.9M in Oil Royalties in 1Q
Guyana received $4.9 million in royalty payments for oil production at the offshore Stabroek block in the first quarter, the finance ministry said on Monday, a period that included the South American country's first crude exports.The crude produced by an Exxon Mobil Corp-led consortium at the Stabroek's Liza field was priced for the purposes of royalty payments at $61.87 per barrel in January, $54.35 per barrel in February, and $36.79 in March, the ministry…
Iranian Tanker Docks in Venezuela
The first of five Iranian tankers carrying fuel to Venezuela has moored at a port serving the El Palito refinery, the oil minister said on Monday, and Refinitiv Eikon data showed a second vessel had entered its waters.Iran is providing Venezuela with 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and refining components in a move criticized by U.S. authorities as both countries are under U.S. sanctions, according to the governments, sources and calculations by TankerTrackers.com.Refinitiv…
PDVSA Creates New Ports Unit Amid Company Shakeup
Venezuela's state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela has created a new unit to run its oil terminals, according to a copy of the government's official gazette seen by Reuters and a person with knowledge of the matter.The launch of the new unit, PDV Puertos S.A., comes after socialist President Nicolas Maduro last month named a new PDVSA president and oil minister to try to revive the once-prosperous OPEC nation's crude output, which has fallen to decades-lows due to years of underinvestment and mismanagement as well as U.S.
When Oil Became Waste
A week of turmoil for crude, and more pain to comeThe magnitude of how damaged the energy industry is came into full view on April 20 when the benchmark price of U.S. oil futures, which had never dropped below $10 a barrel in its nearly 40-year history, plunged to a previously unthinkable minus $38 a barrel.In just a few months, the coronavirus pandemic has destroyed so much fuel demand as billions of people curtail travel that it has done what financial crashes…
30+ Companies Compete for Guyana Crude Trading Deal
More than 30 companies, including commodities traders like Gunvor and Vitol as well as units of oil majors like Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, submitted expressions of interest for a contract to market the Guyanese government's share of the country's crude, the government said on Tuesday.The National Procurement and Tender Board administration unveiled the bids after their Tuesday morning deadline. Other major companies submitting expressions of interest included units of Mercuria…
Oil Traders Vie for Guyana Marketing Deal Despite Price Tumble
Guyana has attracted interest from several oil trading companies for a contract to serve as the marketing agent for the government's share of the country's crude, despite a plunge in global prices, four people familiar with the matter said.Oil major Royal Dutch Shell and commodities traders Gunvor and Mercuria were among the companies that have submitted expressions of interest ahead of the Tuesday morning deadline, the people said on condition of anonymity as they were unauthorized to discuss the matter publicly.Mark Bynoe…
Ecuador Scrambles to Contain Oil Spill in Amazon Region
Ecuadorean authorities on Thursday were scrambling to limit the environmental impact of a crude oil spill in the country's Amazon region, where pipeline bursts prompted by a landslide this week caused crude to enter the Coca river.The Energy Ministry said in a Wednesday evening statement that it had placed barriers around the spill in an area home to several indigenous communities and near the source of drinking water for the city of El Coca, with some 45…
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, PDVSA…
Citgo: Oil Tanker Caught in Dispute Enters International Waters
U.S. refiner Citgo said the Gerd Knutsen oil tanker, which had been carrying crude claimed by both the company and Venezuelan parent PDVSA, departed Venezuela's Jose Terminal on Thursday and entered international waters on Friday morning.The tanker over the past week discharged its 1 million barrel cargo, worth some $57 million, in Venezuela after being stranded for over a year off the South American country's coast amid fallout over U.S. sanctions on PDVSA…
US Sanctions on Rosneft Trading Shifting Crude Flows
U.S. sanctions on Russian Rosneft's trading arm will disrupt a slice of global crude flows and may prompt refineries in Europe, India and the United States to shift purchases to other crude suppliers, traders said.The United States on Tuesday redoubled efforts to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by barring U.S. dealings with Rosneft Trading S.A., a subsidiary of Russia's state oil major Rosneft, which Washington said provides him a financial lifeline.
Venezuela Alters Oil Royalty Formulas, Driven by IMO 2020
Venezuela has changed the formulas for calculating royalties energy companies pay the government to remove references to fuel oil and some crude grades, driven by stricter rules governing marine fuel emissions, according to a document seen by Reuters.A ban by the United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), on the use of fuels with a sulfur content above 0.5%, aimed at reducing pollution, has roiled oil markets and caused…
Shell Wins Auction for Guyana's First Liza Cargoes
Royal Dutch Shell won the rights to market Guyana's first cargoes of crude oil, the government said on Tuesday, just days after oil production began and launched the impoverished South American country into the ranks of world suppliers.An ExxonMobil-led consortium, which includes Hess Corp and China's CNOOC Ltd, began producing crude from the Liza well on Friday. The companies have discovered more than six billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas in a massive offshore block.Guyana has no history of oil production…
Big Oil to Bid for Guyana Crude Cargoes
Large oil companies Exxon Mobil, Hess Corp, CNOOC, BP, Chevron, Total, and Eni are expected to present bids to buy the first three cargoes of Liza crude offered by Guyana's government, the South American country's director of energy said on Monday.A consortium of Exxon, Hess, and China's CNOOC has discovered more than 6 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas resources off the country's coast. The companies plan to begin exporting crude from the country…
Guyana Seeking Oil Buyers
Guyana has invited companies interested in purchasing the first three deliveries of the government's share of the country's looming oil production to present bids this week, the government said in a statement on Sunday.The government will later seek proposals from companies interested in a longer-term contract to market Guyanese crude, the statement said.U.S. oil companies Exxon Mobil and Hess Corp – part of a consortium that has discovered more than 6…
US Gives Chevron More Time in Venezuela
The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday renewed a license allowing Chevron, the last U.S. operating energy company in Venezuela, to continue drilling in the country for another three months through Jan. 22.The license has been a subject of intense debate within the Trump administration as it pursues a campaign to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Its renewal represented a win by some in the administration, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who see keeping a U.S.
Chevron Cleared to Stay in Venezuela
The Trump administration said on Friday it has renewed Chevron Corp's license to drill for oil and gas in Venezuela despite sanctions, signaling it sees value in having the U.S. oil producer operate in a country on the verge of economic and political collapse.The Treasury Department said it renewed the license for three months for Chevron, the last U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, a member of the OPEC producer group. The license runs through Oct.
U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Firms Moving Venezuelan Oil to Cuba
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four maritime firms and vessels transporting Venezuelan oil to Cuba, amid an acute fuel scarcity in the island that is forcing people to line up for gasoline and public transport.Despite tough U.S. measures against Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA in January, Cuba's state-run oil import and export company Cubametales and other Cuba-based entities "have continued to circumvent sanctions by receiving oil shipments from Venezuela…
Operations Suspended at Ecuador Oilfields Amid Protests
Ecuadoran state-run oil company Petroamazonas EP suspended operations at three oil fields in the Amazon region on Monday, the country's energy ministry said, as protests against austerity measures convulse the country.Taken together, the suspensions could reduce crude output by 59,450 barrels per day (bpd) if not lifted, the ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter. It added that the suspension took place after the fields were "taken" by "individuals not affiliated with the operation…
