Category: Venezuela

Federal and New York City prosecutors have opened preliminary investigations into a Venezuelan company that became one of that country’s leading builders of power plants during the administration of President Hugo Chávez , as well as into a Missouri-based company which played a key role in its success, people familiar with the matter say. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Manhattan District Attorneys’ office are probing Derwick Associates, a Venezuelan company that was awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts in little more than a year to build power plants in Venezuela shortly after the country’s power grid began to sputter in 2009, the people familiar with the matter said. ProEnergy Services, a Sedalia, Mo.-based engineering, procurement and construction company which sold dozens of turbines to Derwick and helped build the plants, is also under investigation, these people say. The probes are in their initial phases, […]

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Petroleos de Venezuela SA , the Latin American nation’s state-owned crude producer, said the U.S. oil refining and marketing assets it’s seeking to sell are worth more than $10 billion. “Their value is much, much more,” Rafael Ramirez , president of the oil producer known as PDVSA, told reporters yesterday. He said the company is receiving offers for assets of Houston-based Citgo Petroleum Corp., without providing details on the value of the bids. Citgo owns three refineries capable of handling about 749,000 barrels a day in Louisiana , Texas and Illinois . It also operates the sixth-largest U.S. retail gasoline chain through about 5,900 branded stations, according to the Arlington, Virginia-based National Association of Convenience Stores. Argus Media reported July 24 that the government has received offers in the range of $10 billion to $15 billion for the assets. “We are not a refining company, we’re an oil-producing company,” […]

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o A genie appears from a lamp in the hands of an astonished Venezuelan boy to declare: ”You can ask for anything – except toilet paper!” The world’s highest inflation and shortages of basics from milk to toilet roll are really no laughing matter for Venezuelans, but they find solace in a thriving comedy scene lampooning the governance behind the economic strife. Through cartoons like the genie, stand-up comedy, and online satire, humour has become a prominent and poignant form of criticism as mainstream media exercise more self-censorship. ”Despite oil at $100 a barrel, Venezuela is living through the worst economic crisis of its history … It’s the Midas touch in reverse,” stand-up comic Laureano Marquez told Reuters before entertaining a 600-strong audience at a Caracas theatre. His 90-minute routine delivered a witty critique of problems from food queues and medicine shortages, to government corruption and skewed courts. […]

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OAO Rosneft and Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) have signed a cooperation agreement for offshore projects in the Rio-Caribe and Mejillones blocks, the second stage of the Mariscal Sucre gas project ( OGJ Online, July 3, 2013 ). The companies intend to continue negotiations on key technical requirements and commercial and legal terms for establishment of joint ventures to develop Rio-Caribe and Mejillones. The parties also agreed to set up joint ventures for engineering, construction, and well servicing, and held negotiations on LNG plant construction. The signings took place during a visit to Caracas by Rosneft Pres. Igor Sechin. Rosneft and PDVSA have five joint oil production projects in Venezuela: Carabobo-2 and 4, Junin-6, PetroMonagas, Boqueron, and Petroperija.

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Venezuela, strapped for cash at home and staring down costly litigation overseas, is considering a deal for its U.S.-based refinery company Citgo Petroleum Corp. as well as a stake in a refinery run with Exxon Mobil Corp. , according to a Citgo document and people familiar with the matter. People close to Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PdVSA, say the state-run oil giant is in the early stages of considering a deal for Houston-based Citgo, which operates three refineries. It is separately shopping its 50% stake in the Chalmette refinery in Louisiana, a process that is further advanced, they said. A July 15 bond prospectus for Citgo states that PdVSA "is currently seeking to monetize its ownership interest in us." A spokesman for PdVSA said he had no information on any potential asset sales. Exxon also declined to comment. PdVSA, the principal source of hard currency in Venezuela, is […]

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Selling off U.S. refiner Citgo would free up export volumes for Venezuela to start directing oil to the Chinese market, Energy Ministry officials said. The Venezuelan Energy Ministry said it’s considering separate offers for Citgo from Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Sources inside the ministry told Argus Media offers range from $10 billion to $15 billion. Combined refinery output from Citgo is 757,000 barrels per day, with most of that centered at its Lake Charles facility in Louisiana. Argus reported Thursday the sale of Citgo would free up exports the state-owned oil and gas company known as PDVSA could direct toward China. Both sides have agreements to increase exports by more than 60 percent to 1 million barrels of oil per day by 2016. Venezuela is the No. 4 oil exporter to the United States, behind Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, respectively. For the week ending July […]

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This car-crazed country’s auto industry, once the third largest in South America, is seizing up as manufacturers struggle to produce a few vehicles a day. Car makers, including global giants like Ford Motor Co. , Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. , have cut output by more than 80% in the first six months of the year compared with a year earlier because of a lack of dollars to pay parts suppliers, according to data compiled by the Automotive Chamber of Venezuela, which represents car makers. "This is the first time I have ever seen things this bad," said 61-year-old Antonio Lopez, a Ford worker who recently prepared a sedan for painting at the auto maker’s factory […]

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Petroleos de Venezuela SA ’s annual net income rose more than three-fold as the state-owned oil producer spent less on social programs, reduced costs after currency devaluation and sold assets. Profit rose to $15.8 billion last year from $4.3 billion in 2012, according to a bond offering circular dated May 14, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg. So-called comprehensive net income was $12.9 billion, up from $5.1 billion. Spending on social projects declined to $13 billion from $17.3 billion in 2012. Ousted Planning Minister Jorge Giordani, who was also removed from PDVSA’s board this month, said in a June 18 letter that the company had started to show “signs of independence” under President Nicolas Maduro, derailing the long-term development goals of former President Hugo Chavez. Venezuela devalued the bolivar by 32 percent in February, 2013, taking the primary official rate to 6.3 bolivars per dollar. The country […]

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Venezuela’s PDVSA sold three cargoes of intermediate fuel oil with 380 CST and one 3% sulfur fuel oil cargo to PetroChina for June, a source familiar with PDVSA’s operations said Friday. The first intermediate fuel oil cargo is loading June 13-15 on the tanker Newton, destined for China. The second cargo is loading June 19-21 on the tanker Maxim, also with China as its destination, and the third is loading June 28-30 on an unknown tanker for delivery to Singapore. The 3%S fuel oil cargo is scheduled to load June 26-28 on an unknown tanker and is also being delivered to Singapore, the source said. Article continues below… Oilgram Price Report Oilgram Price Report is a daily report that covers market changes, market fundamentals and factors driving prices. Oilgram Price Report also brings a vast array of Platts international prices for crude and products, netback tables, and market critical […]

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American Airlines said Tuesday that it will cut nearly 80 percent of its flights to Venezuela in a dispute over revenue being held by the South American country. American said that beginning July 2 it will operate 10 flights per week instead of the current 48. And it will only fly to Venezuela from Miami, scrapping flights from New York, Dallas and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The airline says Venezuela is holding on to at least $750 million in revenue that American wants to bring back to the U.S. Other airlines are locked in similar disputes. The International Air Transport Association, a trade group for major world airlines, said this month that Venezuela is holding $4 billion in airline money because of problems with the country’s currency-control system. Air Canada and Italy’s Alitalia have suspended all flights to Caracas and Panama’s Copa has reduced […]

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