Venezuela

According to a statement posted on the website of the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday, "the United States extended a license protecting Venezuelan-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum against 'creditors until June '19." The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued the general license to boost investment in Venezuela and increase oil production. The U.S. also strengthens its protection of Houston's?Citgo, and its overseas parent companies which are the crowning jewels of Venezuela's foreign assets. Citgo is America's eighth largest refiner. The previous OFAC licence, issued in March, was set to expire on May 5. Citgo will be acquired by Amber Energy, a...

Acting president Delcy Rod said that the monthly minimum income in Venezuela would be increased to $240 and pensions to $70. This was announced amid protests from'some employees who demanded higher salaries to combat triple-digit inflation. The monthly minimum wage is only a few dollars in dollar terms. However, workers get bonuses that can bring their incomes to as much as $190 a month. "I think they're right when I see protests by workers." We want higher wages for workers. We want wages to be fully restored to what they were meant to represent. Certainly. This is the first step...

Josu Imaz, the chief executive of Repsol, said that the company is not in a hurry to list the oil and gas production unit it has in the United States. This will temper expectations for a 'initial public offering' or reverse merger. Imaz said in late 2018 that its upstream unit is preparing for a liquidity event by 2026. This could be an IPO, or a reverse merge with a listed company?in the U.S. He said that while the unit is technically "ready to go to the American market", it would be better if the fundamentals of the upstream sector...

Eni, Italy's energy producer, signed a deal with Venezuela's oil ministry and the state-run PDVSA on Tuesday to "relaunch" a heavy crude project within the Orinoco belt. PDVSA has been working with its key partners to sign preliminary agreements that confirm their interest in oil and gas projects or allow them to expand. This is as the government continues a broader?review on all contracts within the oil industry in order for the reform. In recent weeks, U.S. Chevron, British Shell, and Spain's Repsol have also signed similar agreements in order to confirm or expand their partnerships. The agreement with Eni...

The fluid ?catalytic cracker of Venezuela's ?second-largest refinery, ?the 310,000-barrel-per-day ?Cardon, was restarting on Monday after a power outage affected the entire refinery last week, two workers from the facility said. One source said that workers were also restarting Cardon’s naphtha refinery on Monday. This would result in a total crude processing capacity of 237,000 bpd at Cardon, and its linked Amuay refining facility, or about 25% of combined installed capacity. PDVSA's state-owned energy company is prone to blackouts and other outages, which limit its fuel production for domestic distribution. The company has been granted U.S. licenses to import the...

Kristalina?Georgieva, IMF's Managing Director, said that the IMF will provide Venezuela with financial support as part of its re-engagement program with South American oil exporter. Georgieva said at a Washington press conference that the IMF was ready to put together a team of staff to work with Venezuelan officials, but that the country faces "a very difficult road" in order to restore financial and macroeconomic stability. The IMF announced on Thursday that it was re-engaging with Venezuela after not having had any dealings since March 2019, and no economic assessments since 2004. Georgieva stated that "after a seven-year pause, our...

Analysts and traders say that U.S. crude cargo prices have fallen from recent price spikes, while in Europe and Asia prices continue to reach record highs, seven weeks after the Iran 'war. The war in Iran disrupted the global oil flow with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a vital trade route - and caused damage to oil facilities in the entire region. This pushed the price of crude oil in Europe, the Middle East and Asia up to record highs. As the world's largest oil producer, the U.S. has been able, through its refineries, to access the...

Donald Trump told Fox 'Business 'Network that he asked Chinese President Xi Jinping a question in a letter, asking him not to supply weapons to Iran. Xi replied that China did not supply tehran. In the Tuesday interview, Trump did not specify when the letters had been exchanged. He threatened to impose an immediate 50% tariff on countries that supplied Iran with arms last week. "I sent him a note asking him to not do that and he replied with a message saying that he is not doing it," Trump said on?FBN’s "Mornings with Maria". He said he didn't expect...

Venezuela's acting president?Delcy Rod said on Wednesday that her government will make a'responsible' increase to workers' wages on 'May 1'. Her administration is looking to leverage the 'oil' and mining developments in order to improve workers' pay. She did not provide a number for the increase in wages. Venezuela's minimum wage is 130 bolivares a month, which is equivalent to a few cents. However, many public workers earn much more, thanks to bonuses and other payments, to the tune of $150 if they are lucky. The immediate, medium-term, and long-term goal of the government is to gradually and steadily restore...

Venezuela's government, its political opposition and the United States are coordinating their legal defenses of Venezuela's oil-rich assets. Washington's recognition of interim president Delcy Rodriquez raised questions regarding who could represent Venezuela in U.S. court. The lawyers for Rodriguez's government, as well as the opposition, asked Manhattan's U.S. Magistrate Sarah Netburn to pause for 45-days a case where creditors seek to seize funds?linked to Petroleos de Venezuela until they decided who would represent Venezuelan interests. The letter "signaled" potential cooperation between the Rodriguez government and the opposition in safeguarding U.S. assets, such as the Houston-based oil refiner Citgo Petroleum, from...

The Philippines' ambassador to the United States stated that it is working closely with Washington in order to securing waivers and exceptions to allow oil to be purchased from sanctioned U.S. countries. This will 'ensure supply. The Philippines, which is heavily dependent on imported fuels, declared on Tuesday a national energy emergency in order to deal with Middle East War fallout, including oil procurement. In a series of phone messages, Jose Manuel Romualdez said: "We're working with the State Department on getting waivers or exemptions for oil purchases from sanctioned U.S. countries." Romualdez responded that "all options" are being considered...

Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela opposition leader, believes that early interest in Venezuela's oil industry is positive. However she has called for greater transparency and contract security. She said in an interview, before her afternoon address at the CERAWeek conference in Houston: "I am here to draw attention to Venezuela and not to delay it." Machado stated that the country could produce up to 5 million barrels a day with an investment of $150 billion. The country currently produces around 1 million barrels of oil a day. She believes that Venezuela's PDVSA, the state-run oil company, will eventually be reduced in...

Four sources said that Delcy Roddez, interim president of Venezuela, is preparing to take control of the U.S. subsidiaries owned by state oil company PDVSA, including Citgo Petroleum. The move could exacerbate a tug-of-war for control of the seventh largest U.S. refiner. Two sources claim that Rodriguez is still working on her list of board members to be approved by the Treasury. Some names were not received well in Washington. The sources say that if the executives are approved by the Treasury, then the Office of Foreign Assets Control would issue a license. One of the sources said that Treasury...

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified in the criminal trial of former U.S. David Rivera is facing criminal charges for acting as an agent unregistered of the government of Venezuelan ex-President Nicolas Maduro. Rubio's testimonies have taken him from Washington, where he was engaged in high level diplomacy surrounding U.S. president Donald Trump's Iran war, to the federal courthouse downtown Miami, where his political career started. When asked by prosecutor Harold Schimkat if Rubio was employed, Rubio replied, "Yeah. I have two jobs." U.S. prosecutors claim that Rivera, who represented southern Florida as a member of the...

Former U.S. congressman lobbied illegally U.S. officials in order to reduce pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government. A U.S. prosecutor stated this on Monday at the opening of trial which will feature testimony by U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio. In his opening statement at Miami Federal Court, David Rivera's lawyer told jurors that his client worked to remove Maduro and not his government from power. The federal court trial in Miami is based on a contract Rivera had signed with a U.S.-based subsidiary of Venezuelan state owned company for $50 million in 2017. In his opening statement, prosecutor...

Exxon Mobil plans to send a team of technical experts?to Venezuela within a few weeks after working out the logistics and security arrangements. Jack Williams, senior vice president of Morgan Stanley, said that the U.S. Oil Major will work with Venezuelan Government and "we would be interested in returning" if the right terms for investment are in place. After U.S. troops?captured Maduro and removed him from office, President Donald Trump urged oil companies to invest $100 billion in Venezuela and rebuild its?energy sector. Exxon's assets in the country have been expropriated two times before, and the company says it needs...

According to sources familiar with these efforts, U.S. refiners 'Phillips 66' and 'Citgo Petroleum" are looking to purchase heavy crude from Venezuelan oil company PDVSA directly starting in April, to maximize profits. They do not want to buy through trading houses or U.S. oil giant Chevron. Trafigura, Vitol and other trading houses secured the first U.S. licenses for exporting Venezuelan oil in January as part of an agreement between Washington and Caracas worth $2 billion. Chevron holds an authorization to ship and operate in Venezuela since last year. Refiners have purchased cargoes of oil from these three companies in the...

Izvestia, a Russian newspaper, reported on Thursday that Russia was preparing to ship crude oil and fuel to Cuba within the next few months. Cuba has been hit by fuel shortages since the U.S. cut off its oil supply. The communist-run Island has informed international airlines that there will be no jet fuel available. This is the latest sign of rapidly worsening conditions. Venezuela has been a major supplier of jet fuel to the United States for many years. However, since Washington's 'blocking of Venezuelan exports in mid-December, it hasn’t received any crude or refined products. A Russian diplomat said...

Four trade sources reported?on Tuesday that the independent Chinese refiner Chambroad Petrochemical had purchased one Canadian crude cargo for May delivery. This follows a decrease in Venezuelan crude supply to China. According to sources, the refiner is one of the biggest buyers of Venezuelan crude oil. It also imports Canadian oil from the Trans Mountain pipeline for its bitumen manufacturing. Chambroad bought Canadian Cold Lake Crude exported?from TMX for a discount of close to $5 per barril compared to the July ICE Brent contract, according to two people. The crude was to be delivered to the eastern Shandong Province in...

Chinese independent refiners have purchased discounted Iranian heavy oil to replace Venezuelan shipments which were halted after the U.S. Two people familiar with the matter said that last month, the U.S. claimed control over the OPEC producer. They said that the withdrawal of Iranian crude oil from storage makes up for the fall in Venezuelan supplies to the world’s largest crude buyer. Venezuelan shipments into China have dropped sharply since the middle of December after U.S. president Donald Trump imposed an embargo on ships sanctioned, as part of a larger campaign against President Nicolas Maduro that culminated with his capture...

U.S. refining company Valero Energy kicked off earnings season in the U.S. on Thursday with strong profits for the?fourth quarter,? thanks to a rebound of margins and a higher volume. Fuel manufacturers have made unexpected profits in the third quarter. Product margins, largely driven by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, recovered from multi-year lows that were seen in 2024, when earnings dipped from their post-pandemic peak. The San Antonio-based company reported that its refining margin increased by over?61% compared to a quarter ago, reaching $13.61 per barrel. Its average throughput volume also rose, from 2.9 million barrels per days a few...

Four executives from refineries in India said that the United States is the main destination for Venezuelan crude oil, and this has slowed down the return of South American supplies to the third largest importer of oil. Trafigura and Vitol, two trading houses, began selling Venezuelan oil in this month following an agreement reached between Caracas Washington to sell the?U.S. After the capture of Venezuelan President?Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. on January 3, Trafigura and Vitol began marketing Venezuelan oil this month. Reliance Industries Ltd, Indian Oil Corp Hindustan Petroleum Corp, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd are among the...

Trafigura, a trading house, has sold its first shipment of Venezuelan crude oil, as part of an agreement between Caracas, Venezuela, and Washington for the supply of 50 million barrels of oil. The Spanish refiner Repsol is expected to receive a shipment of this quantity. Two sources stated that the cargo should be delivered to Repsol by mid-February. Trafigura and Repsol have declined to comment. The agreement would be one of the first to sell Venezuelan oil in Europe since the United States captured Venezuela's leader at the beginning of this month, and struck an agreement with Caracas for the...

Sources in the industry said that Trafigura had sold its first shipment of Venezuelan crude oil as part of a 50 million barrel supply agreement between Caracas, Venezuela, and Washington. The Spanish refiner Repsol is expected to receive the shipment. Two sources stated that the cargo will be delivered to Repsol by February. Trafigura and Repsol have declined to comment. The deal would be one of the first oil sales from Venezuela to Europe since the United States captured Venezuela's leader in early this month. Caracas then signed agreements to export oil up to 50 million barrels. Washington tapped Trafigura...