Category: Latin America

Venezuela: A Closer Look at the Oil Economy of Venezuela thumbnail Venezuela contains some of the largest oil and natural gas proven reserves in the world. In 2013, Venezuela was the third-largest exporter of crude oil to the United States. It consistently ranks as one of the top suppliers of crude oil to the United States. Venezuela was the world’s 9th largest exporter and 12th largest producer of petroleum and other liquids in 2013. At 2.49 million barrels per day (bbl/d) of petroleum and other liquids produced in 2013, Venezuela is the world’s 12th largest producer and the 5th largest producer in the Americas. Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt may contain upwards of 513 billion barrels of crude oil. However, much of the resource is heavy and requires additional capital to bring it to market. Venezuela was the fourth-largest supplier of imported crude oil and petroleum products to the United States […]

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Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) is conducting both planned and unplanned maintenance work at three of its Venezuelan refineries. At its 645,000-b/d Amuay refinery, which comprises part of the Paraguana Refining Center Continue Reading

Sign up for our daily Energy Newsletter Venezuelan economic among the region’s worst hit by the slump in crude oil prices, the International Monetary Fund says. UPI/Gary I Rothstein WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) — Venezuela stands out in terms of regional economies affected most by the weak crude oil market, a research note from the International Monetary Fund said. The price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, is up about 20 percent since the beginning of February, but nearly 40 percent below June 2014 levels. The IMF said the low price of crude oil is a net benefit to countries that rely on importers as the savings spills over to consumer pocketbooks. For net exporters, the weak market is creating fiscal pressures . "One country that stands out is Venezuela, which had been experiencing severe economic imbalances before oil prices began to fall and now finds itself in […]

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Photo by Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images An employee waits to unload valuable merchandise while people line up outside a supermarket in Caracas on Jan. 20, 2015. Cash-strapped Venezuela, which has the second-largest oil reserves in the world, after Saudi Arabia, and relies on oil for 95 percent of its export revenue, has been hit particularly hard by plummeting global prices. Still, it’s hard not to read a commodity-sharing deal proposed by nearby Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister as anything but humiliating.  Joshua Keating Joshua Keating is a staff writer at Slate focusing on international affairs.  At a news conference Tuesday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar suggested that her government would “purchase goods identified by the Government of Venezuela from T&T’s manufacturers, such as tissue paper, gasoline, and parts for machinery,” and trade them for Venezuelan oil. It’s not clear if the Venezuelans are open to the deal, but they certainly need […]

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People queue up outside a supermarket in Caracas. Photographer: Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images (Bloomberg) — Venezuela, plagued with shortages of basic goods, was offered a reprieve by the Prime Minister of neighboring Trinidad & Tobago: exchange oil for tissue paper. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar suggested an oil-for-tissue swap in a news conference Tuesday following a meeting in Port of Spain with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. She said the deal would benefit both countries. “The concept of commodity sharing is simple -– the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will purchase goods identified by the Government of Venezuela from T&T’s manufacturers, such as tissue paper, gasoline, and parts for machinery,” Persad-Bissessar said. In Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, citizens line up outside supermarkets for hours seeking a bag of clothing detergent, toilet paper or cooking oil. Price controls and a lack of dollars for importers have emptied […]

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CARACAS, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Venezuela has requested the annulment of a World Bank tribunal award that orders it pay Exxon Mobil Corp $1.6 billion in compensation for nationalizations, both sides said on Wednesday. George Kahale, Venezuela’s lawyer, said he did not know when the tribunal was likely to issue a decision on the request. "The first step is for the appointment of the committee to hear the annulment application, and that has not happened yet," said the lawyer with Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP. "The schedule for the annulment process will not be determined until after the committee is appointed." Exxon said earlier on Wednesday the South American OPEC country had filed for an annulment of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes award on Feb. 2. "The application alleges that, in issuing the ICSID award, the Tribunal exceeded its powers, failed to state reasons on […]

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CARACAS (Reuters) – About a dozen foreign energy companies in Venezuela have been authorized to exchange foreign currency at a new, more advantageous rate in bolivars in order to boost cash flow and speed up projects, a high-level PDVSA source said on Tuesday. The companies, participating in joint ventures in various fields around Venezuela, can now buy local currency at the Simadi rate, currently averaging 172 bolivars per dollar, compared to far more disadvantageous rates used in the past. "This will increase the bolivars they have for capital expenditure and operational expenditure. It is a huge incentive and drastically affects cash flow," the PDVSA source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, told Reuters. "Partners who have been skeptical will now be encouraged to speed up," the source said. State-owned oil and natural gas company PDVSA’s foreign partners have long cited as […]

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AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos World Video Buy AP Photo Reprints Multimedia Venezuelan ‘System’ Brings Classics to Barrios CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appears to have chosen his latest foe carefully. While the arrest of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma provoked spontaneous demonstrations and drew international condemnation, it also reminded many Venezuelans of what they most disliked about the politicians who preceded Maduro and his late mentor Hugo Chavez at a time when the socialist government faces an economic crisis that has sent the president’s popularity plummeting. Over the past year, Maduro’s embattled government has arrested several opposition politicians and business executives, accusing them of plotting to destabilize the government. None, however, fits the role of boogeyman quite like Ledezma, who plunged into politics in his 20s and has amassed a bevy of political liabilities over the years. Chief among them is his close relationship with disgraced former President […]

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