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AlwaysFree: PDVSA Slows Oil Output And Blending As Inventories Mount

Author: SSESSMENTS

As US sanctions scare off buyers and inventories have swelled, Venezuela’s PDVSA has suspended some crude blending and cut back production.


In an attempt to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro, the US this year has imposed several rounds of sanctions on PDVSA. The opposition dismissed Maduro’s re-election in  2018.


US firms banned from buying oil from PDVSA. If foreign firms materially assist Maduro’s administration, the US also threatened them with punishment. This has made other customers worried. The situation resulted in Venezuela’s crude inventories to rise sharply to more than 38 million barrels. Since early 2018, this is the highest. 


Due to a lack of maintenance, many tanks are inactive. PDVSA’s loading programs so far in September only show three customers: Cuba’s Cubametales, Spain’s Repsol, and Rosneft.


To pay contractors and suppliers, PDVSA left with minimum access to hard currency. Venezuela’s crude production was down 60 percent from January to 979,400 bpd in August. Compared with 48 drilling units two years ago, the nation’s active rigs fell to 25 and oil exports were 770,000 bpd last month.


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Tags: AlwaysFree,EN FNSS,English PDVSA,Venezuela’s PDVSA,crude blending

Published on September 19, 2019 7:17 PM (GMT+8)
Last Updated on December 30, 2019 7:09 PM (GMT+8)