Two Chevron Employees Could Face Treason Charges
The draft charges that used the word treason, seen by Chevon’s own lawyers last week, may put Chevron squarely in the middle of the escalating feud between PDVSA and foreign Continue Reading
U.S. says ex-official at PDVSA unit pleads guilty to money laundering
A former official of a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA pleaded guilty on Thursday to a U.S. charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Justice Department Continue Reading
Funding emerges for company with a Cuban energy footprint
Melbana Energy, an Australian company with operations in Cuba and New Zealand, said it secured a $2.5 million loan to help finance its operations. The company said it secured the Continue Reading
Panama Canal to cut transit draft to 48 feet on April 27: ACP
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) will reduce the maximum draft for vessels transiting the Neopanamax locks to 48 feet or 14.63 meters tropical fresh water starting April 27, it said. Continue Reading
Venezuelan Oil Enters The Disaster Zone
The decline of Venezuela’s oil production for the foreseeable future has been assumed, and to a large extent, already priced into the market. However, an acceleration in the rate of Continue Reading
Two Chevron Employees Arrested In Venezuela
Venezuelan intelligence services have arrested two local employees of Chevron, Reuters reports , citing unnamed sources. The reason for the detention has not yet been established. Neither the company, nor Continue Reading
The Panama Canal Needs To Be Expanded Again
When the Panama Canal was expanded, it drew a lot of enthusiasm, with many seeing U.S. oil and gas exports surging thanks to the wider waterway that cuts the journey Continue Reading
Under military rule, Venezuela oil workers quit in a stampede
Chauffeured around in a sleek black pick-up, the head of Venezuela’s oil industry, Major General Manuel Quevedo, last month toured a joint venture with U.S. major Chevron. FILE PHOTO: A Continue Reading
Ecuadorians Challenge Chevron Over $9.5B Award In Canadian Court
Ecuadorian farmers and indigenous people will seek to show an Ontario Court of Appeal this week that Chevron Canada is legally liable for a US$9.5-billion award that the Ecuadorians won Continue Reading
Venezuela empowers oil minister Quevedo to reform energy sector
President Nicolas Maduro has decreed extra powers to his oil czar Manuel Quevedo to try and halt sliding crude output in crisis-hit Venezuela, which has sunk to its lowest level Continue Reading
Venezuela’s imploding economy sparks refugee crisis
On a rainy Wednesday before Easter, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants shuffled into the brick-walled courtyard of the Divine Providence Shelter in the Colombian border town of Villa del Rosario, sat Continue Reading
BP looks to deepen partnership with Brazil’s Petrobras
British energy company BP said it wanted to expand its level of cooperation with an oil company in Brazil, one of the largest producers outside of OPEC. BP signed a Continue Reading
Venezuela’s Oil Production Falls Further, No Turnaround In Sight
The doom and gloom forecasts for Venezuela’s oil production are about to get a bit gloomier. And since 95% of Venezuela’s export revenues come from oil, as things get more Continue Reading
Argentina CNG use expected to cut into gasoline, diesel consumption
Compressed natural gas is becoming trendy again in Argentina, as rising gasoline prices make it more economical, a shift that could help underpin the development of the country’s large shale Continue Reading
Rig work considered for Cuban oil prospect
The preliminary steps toward drilling into an oil basin in Cuba are underway in a project that could draw international interest, an Australian company said. Melbana Energy, an Australian exploration, Continue Reading
Venezuela Is in Default, but Goldman Sachs Just Got Paid
Venezuela’s cash-strapped government stopped paying its foreign debt months ago. But a unit of Goldman Sachs GS 1.71% Group Inc. recently received payments of tens of millions of dollars for Continue Reading
Venezuelan Constituent Assembly Approves Oil-Backed Cryptocurrency
Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly has finally given the go-ahead to the country’s oil-backed cryptocurrency, El Petro, after the parliament declared it unconstitutional. According to a statement by Vice President Tareck Continue Reading
Venezuela stopped bond payments in September
Venezuela stopped paying bondholders in September, according to central bank data, contradicting statements by President Nicolás Maduro that the county would continue to hhonorits debts while negotiating a resettlement with Continue Reading
Exxon’s Favorable Guyana Oil Deal Won’t Happen Again
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is calling on the authorities of Guyana to revamp their tax laws for future oil contracts to protect themselves from unbalanced exploitation after massive Exxon Continue Reading
As Venezuela oil sanctions approach, US Gulf Coast refiners diversify
US imports of Venezuelan crude have fallen to near historic lows and five Gulf Coast refineries now import nearly every barrel the imperiled South American nation exports here, new US Continue Reading
Venezuela’s Oil Sector May Soon Have New Owners
Venezuela’s oil production fell by another 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March, a devastating blow that will only make the country’s economic crisis worse. Output is expected to continue Continue Reading
Venezuelan Crude Exports To U.S. Gulf Coast Refiners Plunge
Gulf Coast Refineries in the United States are importing crude oil from other countries in order to insulate themselves from possible US-imposed sanctions on Venezuela. Using data compiled in part Continue Reading
Chile’s ENAP, Argentina’s YPF inaugurate $354 million offshore gas project
The state-run energy firms of Chile and Argentina said on Wednesday they had inaugurated a $354 million project to increase production of natural gas off the southern tip of South Continue Reading
Offshore Brazil among the world’s best oil basins, Wintershall says
The oil basins off the coast of Brazil are among the best prospects in the world, German energy company Wintershall said after the latest auction. The Brazilian government offered nearly Continue Reading
Latin American nations compete for capital in surge of oil auctions
For decades, many Latin America’s oil-producing nations have often shunned investment from foreign firms, instead of keeping their vast reserves under the tight control of governments and state-run oil companies. Continue Reading
Royal Dutch Shell’s Brazil subsidiary secures four deep-water blocks
Royal Dutch Shell’s Brazilian subsidiary secured four deep-water exploration blocks off the country’s coast, the company announced. Shell Brasil Petroleo said Thursday it will operate in two of the four Continue Reading
World’s Most Indebted Oil Company Makes Major Hedge
In February and March, Brazil’s state-controlled oil firm Petrobras hedged 128 million barrels of its expected 2018 production —equal to around 15 percent of total production—at an average price of Continue Reading
Exxon leads oil majors in bids for Brazil’s offshore reserves
Exxon Mobil Corp roared into Brazil’s prolific offshore oil fields again on Thursday, clinching eight blocks in partnership with other oil firms eager to lap up the country’s choice reserves Continue Reading
U.S. efforts to pressure oil-rich Venezuela tricky
Data in a U.S. report suggests that as Venezuela depends on oil revenue, and it’s a top oil exporter to the United States, pressure could cuts both ways. The U.S. Continue Reading
Alfred De Zayas: Venezuela must take the US to the International Court of Justice
Alfred De Zayas, UN independent expert for the promotion of an international democratic and equitable order (Archive) Alfred de Zayas, a UN Independent Expert for the promotion of an international Continue Reading
Venezuela Tries To Pay Russian Debt With Cryptocurrency
If crisis-hit Venezuela was hoping to pay off its US$3.15-billion debt to Russia with its new cryptocurrency, those hopes have been shattered as the Russian Finance Ministry announces that it Continue Reading
Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego launches onshore E&P round, preps offshore tender
Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost province of Argentina, launched an exploration licensing round Tuesday for two onshore blocks and announced plans for an offshore tender later this year, as it Continue Reading
Argentina moving to develop tight shale oil and gas, speakers say
With the largest shale gas resources and tight oil deposits second only to those of the US in the Western Hemisphere, Argentina is trying to attract more foreign investments by Continue Reading
Venezuela president solution to inflation: change money
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he’s tackling the country’s staggering inflation by lopping three zeros off the increasingly worthless bolivar currency. Maduro announced the strategy in a state television broadcast Continue Reading
Venezuela oil workers clash with security officials in PDVSA…
Angry Venezuelan oil workers demanding better benefits to counter crushing hyperinflation and food shortages clashed with security officials during a rare protest in the cafeteria of state oil company PDVSA’s Continue Reading
Venezuela defends currency targeted by U.S. sanctions
The state-owned oil company in Venezuela said Friday it welcomed a move by the president to support a currency targeted by U.S. sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department followed through this Continue Reading
Venezuela’s Maduro, Clinging to Power, Uses Hunger as an Election Weapon
Sara Meza is just the kind of voter Venezuela’s opposition could once count on at the ballot box. A 32-year-old teacher, she’s fed up with President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Her Continue Reading
Did Venezuela Just Lose A Key Ally?
Venezuela’s debt crisis is only expected to grow worse this year, and the government could be without one of its most important benefactors, raising the odds of yet another default. Continue Reading
Is Guyana Prepared For An Oil Boom?
Guyana’s story shares many similarities with the story of the ugly duckling. One of the poorest countries in South America, it has historically been entirely dependent on oil imports. In Continue Reading
U.S. impact of Venezuelan sanctions muted
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin targets a petro currency that, according to a risk consultant group, only works in the mind of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI Continue Reading
US bans trade in Venezuela’s digital currency
The US added another weapon to its armory of sanctions against Venezuela on Monday by prohibiting all US trade in the petro, a digital currency launched by the government of Continue Reading
U.S. actively looking into Venezuelan oil sanctions: official
The Trump administration is actively exploring options to impose sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, a senior U.S. official said on Monday, after the White House issued an executive order barring Continue Reading
The Oil Crisis That Can’t Be Stopped
Venezuela’s oil production fell by another 52,000 bpd in February from a month earlier, according to OPEC’s secondary sources data. That put Venezuela’s oil output at 1.548 mb/d for February, Continue Reading
The Single Largest Supply Risk In Oil Markets
Venezuela lost another 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February, according to the Paris-based energy agency, and continues to present the largest supply risk to the global oil market. The Continue Reading
US foreign policy turn could take 1.4 million b/d off global oil market: analysts
An expected, aggressive turn in US foreign policy led by incoming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could trigger a loss of up to 1.4 million b/d in global crude supply Continue Reading
India’s Oil Imports From Venezuela Plunge To Lowest Since 2012
As crisis-stricken Venezuela is struggling with a steep decline in its oil production, India’s average oil imports from the Latin American OPEC member have slumped over the last few months Continue Reading
Venezuela’s crude oil production declines amid economic instability
Venezuela’s crude oil production has been on a downward trend for two decades, but it has experienced significant decreases over the past two years. Crude oil production in Venezuela decreased Continue Reading
Oil majors’ interest in Argentina tests free-market reforms
Oil majors are evaluating bids for offshore exploration rights in Argentina, a major change in a country that sent Spanish energy giant Repsol ( REP.MC ) packing six years ago Continue Reading
Colombia jumps into Latam oil auction wave, to award blocks in April
Colombia plans to award up to 15 oil blocks next month and will begin routinely offering onshore and offshore areas for exploration and production in May, the head of the Continue Reading
Colombia to export 13.8 mil barrels of crude in March, down 11% from Feb: program
Colombia is expected to export 13.8 million barrels of crude in March, 11% less than February, according to a preliminary loading program seen by S&P Global Platts Friday. About 4.5 Continue Reading