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Ex-PdV head quits Venezuela ministry, Saab in

  • Market: Crude oil
  • 18/10/24

Venezuela's former head of state-owned PdV and oil minister Pedro Tellechea resigned from his recent post as industries minister, with former US prisoner Alex Saab taking his place.

Tellechea stepped down from his two roles in late August to be replaced by Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodriguez as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle after a contested 28 July presidential election.

He announced his departure today on X, formerly Twitter, a social media platform recently banned in Venezuela but accessible through virtual private networks. He attribute his leaving to health problems.

Saab, appointed almost immediately after Tellechea said he was leaving, is a Colombian-Venezuelan businessman freed last year by the US administration in a prisoner swap. He spent three years in US and African jails awaiting trial on money-laundering charges.

Several of Tellechea's colleagues in top military and law enforcement posts were sacked by Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro this week also, including the head of the presidential security detail Ivan Hernandez, sources told Argus.

Tellechea is a former colonel in the Venezuelan army and an engineer. He took over at PdV in January 2023, in the wake of an investigation into an alleged $23bn in missing cryptocurrency funds, and became energy minister two months later. His predecessor in that role, Tareck El Aissami, was jailed in the cryptocurrency case.


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20/02/25

Guyanese refinery not off the table: Minister

Guyanese refinery not off the table: Minister

Georgetown, 20 February (Argus) — Guyana's tentative plans to start a venture with a US midstream company to refine its oil overseas and bring it back into the country for storage and distribution does not necessarily mean a domestic refinery is no longer an option. "I would not put it off the table," natural resources minister Vickram Bharrat told Argus today on the sidelines of the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo in Georgetown, Guyana. "But what we were told by many companies is that a 30,000 b/d refinery might not be economical, that we may have to do 50,000 b/d or 100,000 b/d." Such a refinery would require a guarantee for sufficient feedstock before a company would agree to build it, he said. The government may be in a better position to pursue both options when the ExxonMobil-led consortium behind the giant offshore Stabroek block development has six floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units up and running in the next few years, he said. Chevron-Exxon dispute not a concern Guyana is not taking sides in the dispute between ExxonMobil and Chevron over the future of Hess' 30pc stake in Staebroek, Bharrat said, as it has "no particular preference" as to how it plays out. Chevron's pending $53bn takeover of Hess was largely driven by its stake in Staebroek, but ExxonMobil argues it has a right of first refusal for Hess' share. An international arbitration case will resolve the issue in May. "Our position was clear from the start," Bharrat said. "If that was not going to affect the operations in Guyana — and we were told it will not — then we are fine." Guyana has a "good relationship" with Hess, which has agreed to buy carbon credits from the government, he said. "We have no issue with Chevron coming in either," he said. "Chevron would add value to the Guyana basin." With general elections coming up in Guyana later this year, there are signs the opposition party may seek to renegotiate oil contracts. But Bharrat said the current administration is not renegotiating the Stabroek production sharing agreement it signed previously. Bharrat repeated his enthusiasm for the country's natural gas potential, including a plan for a gas processing facility which could help the company diversify the economy away from its oil wealth. "That project will cater for a small amount of fertilizer production, especially for local consumption, because we import a lot of fertilizer and we're expanding our agricultural sector," he said. Guyana's relatively new entry into global oil markets means the threat of the "oil curse" — in which oil-rich countries tend to have less economic and social stability — still looms large. But Bharrat said that so far "... we've been doing a good job." Other up-and-coming oil producers such as Namibia and neighboring Suriname have visited Guyana to learn how the government has developed its oil sector in such a short period of time, he said. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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2025 will be ‘pivotal’ for ExxonMobil in Guyana


19/02/25
News
19/02/25

2025 will be ‘pivotal’ for ExxonMobil in Guyana

Houston, 19 February (Argus) — ExxonMobil said 2025 is shaping up to be "very pivotal" for the company's operations at the giant Stabroek offshore block in Guyana as the pace of projects speeds up. The US oil and gas producer has just submitted the draft environmental impact assessment for the Hammerhead project to Guyana's Environmental Protection Agency, ExxonMobil's Guyana president Alistair Routledge said today at the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo in Georgetown. "We target reaching final investment decision for that project in the middle of the year, subject, of course, to us completing the full environmental permitting process and the production license process," he said. Hammerhead is forecast to deliver up to 190,000 b/d when it is brought up to full capacity by the end of 2029. Next year, ExxonMobil plans to reach a final investment decision on Longtail, which will be the first to target non-associated gas in the southeast area of Stabroek. "We'll develop a significant resource base of gas, but also condensates, liquids," Routledge said. Gas output is pegged at up to 1.2 bcf/d when it starts at the end of the decade. Routledge acknowledged the government's impatience to move faster on gas development plans. "We want to move quickly," he told the conference. "But for those in the industry, you will understand the additional complexity and challenges that gas brings." This includes higher transport and storage costs than oil and lower energy density. That means it takes more effort to advance gas projects, especially in a country like Guyana that does not have an existing market. A $1bn pipeline that will ship gas from Stabroek to a planned power plant and natural gas liquids complex — the centerpiece of Guyana's promised gas-to-energy project — is already complete. "We're ready to deliver gas onshore to that very first domestic gas project that will deliver real benefits to Guyana," Routledge said. The Guyanase government has plans in motion to build a second power plant, and then a fertilizer plant, which will support the country's agricultural sector as part of a diversification drive. Routledge outlined other possible strategies to further develop the country's gas resources, including data centers like those spreading elsewhere to power artificial intelligence services. "We've had conversations with some potential investors," Routledge said. "That's on our radar." There is also the option of connecting Guyana's gas resources to world markets. "While it may be cost prohibitive to lay a pipeline all the way to Trinidad, there is still the possibility of using liquefied natural gas technology to connect us to global markets," Routledge said. "That is a further option that is on the table and being investigated." By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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CO2 capture would extend US energy independence: Oxy


19/02/25
News
19/02/25

CO2 capture would extend US energy independence: Oxy

Calgary, 19 February (Argus) — Direct air capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) would extend the US' energy independence by more than 10 years, Occidental Petroleum's chief executive Vicki Hollub said today, but tax subsidies now at risk from the White House are still needed. The US could tap into another 50bn-70bn bls of oil by using enhanced oil recovery techniques with CO2 pulled in by direct air capture facilities, like the projects Occidental is developing, Hollub said on a call with analysts on Wednesday. Direct air capture technology removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Naturally occurring CO2 from underground formations is already used in enhanced oil recovery projects in the US, but it has limits, Hollub said. "There's not enough organic CO2 in the country to be able to flood all the [reservoirs] we're going to need to flood," Hollub said. Such projects are counting on 45Q tax credits offered through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed during the administration of former president Joe Biden. But President Donald Trump suspended IRA funds soon after taking office, criticizing it as "the Green New Scam". "We know that we have the capability to get the costs down on these direct air capture facilities," said Hollub. "But to get to where we need to be, we really need to have 45Q." Occidental's low carbon strategy has not yet changed since Trump took office. "President Trump knows the business case for this," said Hollub. "I've had several conversations with him." Occidental produced 1.46mn b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) of oil and natural gas in the fourth quarter, the company reported on 18 February, up from 1.23mn boe/d in the fourth quarter 2023, largely due to its massive $12bn acquisition of CrownRock in August last year. By Brett Holmes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Trump asserts power over independent agencies


19/02/25
News
19/02/25

Trump asserts power over independent agencies

Washington, 19 February (Argus) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that claims to give him sweeping control over the budgets, policies and regulations of independent US agencies that oversee the energy sector, financial markets, trade and transportation. The order seeks to give the White House unprecedented control over the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and more than a dozen other independent agencies. Trump's order asserts that "so-called independent agencies" lack sufficient accountability and should be brought under his direct control. "For the federal government to be truly accountable to the American people, officials who wield vast executive power must be supervised and controlled by the people's elected president," according to the executive order, which was signed on Tuesday. FERC, the CFTC and the SEC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump's order would all but end years of attempts by the US Congress to shield agencies that oversee energy markets, trading, finance, maritime trade, railroads, and other businesses from excessive political influence. Congress made those agencies independent — often with a bipartisan board serving years-long terms — to ensure a degree of independence when agencies resolve business disputes, set market rules and issue new regulations. In Trump's first term, FERC's commissioners and Republican chairman rejected the administration's plan to push through market rules to bail out coal and nuclear power plants, based partly on the concerns that doing so would destabilize power markets and cost consumers billions of dollars. It remains unclear if the agency in the future could assert that degree of independence under the order. Trump's order would give the White House the ability to control independent agency budgets and require the appointment of a White House "liaison" in each agency. The order would require agency chairs to align their policies with the White House, subject all significant regulations to review by the administration, and would establish "performance standards" for agency leaders. The order provides an exception for the US Federal Reserve for monetary policy, but the agency's budget and its regulatory actions would come under White House control. Other agencies also covered by the executive order include the US Surface Transportation Board, the US Federal Trade Commission, the US Chemical Safety Board, the US Export-Import Bank, the US Federal Maritime Commission and the US National Transportation Safety Board. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Investor group urges BP to allow new climate vote


19/02/25
News
19/02/25

Investor group urges BP to allow new climate vote

London, 19 February (Argus) — A group of 46 BP institutional investors has voiced concerns that the company may ditch a target to reduce its oil and gas production to 2mn b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) by the end of the decade, urging in a letter to BP chairman Helge Lund that a new shareholder vote be allowed on its net-zero strategy. The letter's signatories include several UK and European pension fund managers and other investors, including Aegon, Investec and Robeco. It comes ahead of BP's capital markets day on 26 February, when the company has said it will "fundamentally reset" its strategy. The group calls on BP to give another opportunity to vote on its net-zero plans at its 2025 annual general meeting, pointing out that shareholders in 2022 endorsed a BP plan to cut hydrocarbon production by 40pc, to 1.5mn boe/d, by 2030. That achieved 88.5pc support from shareholders, but the group of investors behind the letter note that nine months later BP revised upwards its target for 2030 to 2mn boe/d. BP's output averaged 2.36mn boe/d in 2024. The investors are now concerned that increased spending by BP on oil and gas output, due to subsequent strategy tweaks, will raise "potential exposure to stranded assets as the energy transition progresses." The letter notes there is opportunity for BP to explain how emissions budgets in Paris Agreement-aligned scenarios are considered in the sanctioning of new projects. "Showing where projects will sit on the global merit curve of producing assets would also allow investors to assess the relative competitiveness and resilience of BP's portfolio and capital expenditure," it states. In a statement to Argus a signatory to the letter, Royal London Asset Management, said it recognised BP's past efforts toward the energy transition but it is "concerned about the company's continued investment in fossil fuel expansion. "If BP has decided to scrap its production target, we seek clarity on how capital allocation will shift to ensure resilience through the energy transition," it said. "Will BP scale up investments in renewable energy, carbon capture, and emerging technologies to future-proof the business against regulatory, market, and climate risks?" Royal London urged BP "to strengthen governance and transparency around transition planning, ensuring that future capex decisions align with a net-zero pathway rather than locking in further emissions growth." It added: "Robust oversight and clear long-term strategies are essential to delivering value while managing the risks of an accelerating energy transition." A BP spokesman said the company had received the letter and "will respond in due course." Environmental pressure group Greenpeace said BP can expect this kind of pushback and challenge from its shareholders "at every turn if it doubles down on fossil fuels". "Government policies will also need to prioritise renewable power, and as extreme weather puts pressure on insurance models policymakers will be looking to fossil fuel profits as a way to fund extreme weather recovery," Greenpeace said. "BP might want to seriously put the brakes on this U-turn." Earlier this month BP's shares jumped on media reports that activist hedge fund Elliott Investment Management was building a stake in the UK major. Investment bank analysts that follow BP expect Elliott to attempt to bring about a boardroom shake-up as it has at other resources companies, including at Canadian oil sands business Suncor Energy in 2022. By Jon Mainwaring Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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