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Guaido team favoring ConocoPhillips in Citgo fight

  • Market: Crude oil, Oil products
  • 19/06/20

Another senior Venezuelan opposition figure has resigned following the government's leak of a strategy that would favor ConocoPhillips in an escalating battle among creditors for shares in Venezuelan state-owned PdV's US refining unit Citgo.

Jose Ignacio Hernandez, who held the title of special attorney general in opposition leader Juan Guaido's US-backed exiled administration, announced his resignation late yesterday shortly after the government of President Nicolas Maduro leaked audio of Hernandez discussing the strategy in a meeting with the opposition-controlled National Assembly's energy commission.

In the audio, the veracity of which was confirmed by the attorney general's office yesterday, Hernandez describes an "understanding" with ConocoPhillips in which the US company would "pause" a stalled case against PdV in Portugal to focus on an ongoing case in a Delaware court, which has already ruled that Citgo shares can be sold to satisfy a debt to former Canadian mining company Crystallex, now owned by New York hedge fund Tenor Capital Management.

ConocoPhillips, which is the second creditor in line behind Crystallex in the Delaware case, will seek equal rights to Citgo shares once an embargo order is issued, according to Hernandez's account to the commission.

He said lawyers are still discussing the details of the understanding with ConocoPhillips.

"Conoco's objective is to obtain this embargo measure in order to get rights equal to that of Crystallex," says Hernandez, a former academic who led Guaido's legal team from the US since his 2019 appointment.

In the audio, which was posted on social media by Venezuela's executive vice president Delcy Rodriguez, Hernandez warns that Citgo is close to falling into creditors' hands, contradicting the Guaido team's public assertions that the asset is protected.

"I am surprised at how long these walls of defense that I built have lasted. Sooner or later…and no one knows the walls of the legal defense better than me, these walls are weak and fractured and they will collapse," Hernandez warns, adding that with a possible change of government in the US on top of political changes in Venezuela "we could be in a worse situation even than we were in January 2019" when Guaido declared his interim presidency.

Hernandez also discusses his "personal" effort to win recognition for the Guaido administration through the president of the World Bank — former US treasury official David Malpass — and its International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (Icsid), which issued arbitration awards for numerous companies, including ConocoPhillips, whose Venezuelan assets were expropriated under Venezuela's late president Hugo Chavez.

Legacy claims

ConocoPhillips' claims stem from the 2007 takeover of its stakes in two Venezuelan projects that were designed to upgrade Orinoco extra-heavy crude into lighter synthetic grades for export. The 120,000 b/d PetroZuata project, now known as Petro San Felix and wholly owned by PdV, has been mothballed for years. The 190,000 b/d Ameriven project became PetroPiar, which is controlled by PdV with a minority stake owned by Chevron. PetroPiar is among the few PdV ventures that continues to operate, but at a diminished level. Chevron remains in Venezuela under a US sanctions waiver that expires in December.

ConocoPhillips did not reply to a request for comment on the alleged understanding with Guaido's team.

Hernandez says he had already resigned before the audio leaked. Yesterday he released a 28 May resignation letter to Guaido in which he urges "deep institutional reforms in the State's legal defense".

Last month, two directors of an "ad hoc" PdV board of exiles resigned and they have not yet been replaced. Guaido's envoy to Chile recently departed as well.

Inside Venezuela, Maduro is tightening his grip on power ahead of National Assembly elections that would remove the constitutional basis of Guaido's claim to an interim presidency. His supreme court appointed an electoral board and is seeking to replace the leadership of opposition parties.


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25/02/25

Deadline nears for Dutch marine fuel parallel claims

Deadline nears for Dutch marine fuel parallel claims

London, 25 February (Argus) — Shipowners bunkering in the Netherlands have just three days to register the required data to make a so-called "parallel claim" for use of advanced biodiesel blends last year under the EU's emissions trading system (ETS). But with the deadline fast approaching, it is still not certain if parallel claims can be applied across the board for 2024 emissions, according to the Dutch Emissions Authority (NEa). The legal basis for these claims within the scope of the ETS scope will be provided by an amendment to the Emissions Trading Regulation, NEa said. Until such an amendment has been ratified, no "rights can be derived" for parallel claims, it added. Market participants told Argus that the 28 February data entry deadline will apply primarily to Dutch-flagged vessels and international vessels that disembark in the Netherlands most frequently during a reporting year. Parallel claims refer to advanced fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) marine biodiesel blends bunkered in the Netherlands, which are eligible for both Dutch renewable HBE-G tickets and a zero CO2 emission factor under the EU ETS. HBE-G tickets are a class of Dutch renewable fuels units used by companies that bring liquid or gaseous fossil fuels into general circulation and are obligated to pay excise duty/energy tax on fuels. These tickets are typically obtained by the bunker fuel supplier, and the process would usually include submitting Proof of Sustainability (PoS) documentation. The shipowner buying advanced Fame marine biodiesel blends would typically not receive the PoS at the point of delivery. But PoS documentation is generally required for EU ETS purposes, including obtaining a zero CO2 emission factor for eligible biofuels. The Netherlands' Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has decided to allow parallel claims for maritime fuels, and the NEa said it communicated instructions on this to relevant bookers last month. But the uncertainty surrounding the application of parallel claims for 2024 could weigh on marine biodiesel demand in the Netherlands, where regional price dynamics have led to a shift in demand away from northwest Europe and towards Singapore. Prolonged uncertainty could further support demand in Singapore, where parallel claims would usually not be necessary under EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime regulations. The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) recently issued a framework for a Proof of Compliance (PoC) document, intended to address challenges arising from the unavailability of PoS documentation for downstream operators, such as airlines and shipowners. NEa said it expects a temporary solution such as the PoC to be available for compliance year 2025. In the longer run, the plan is for the Union database to facilitate claims, it said. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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India’s bitumen imports, consumption slip in 2024


25/02/25
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25/02/25

India’s bitumen imports, consumption slip in 2024

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Australia’s Woodside sees robust demand for LNG


25/02/25
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25/02/25

Australia’s Woodside sees robust demand for LNG

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Reopening New Zealand refinery could cost $4bn: Study


25/02/25
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25/02/25

Reopening New Zealand refinery could cost $4bn: Study

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Gasoline price in southern Germany down on ample supply


24/02/25
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24/02/25

Gasoline price in southern Germany down on ample supply

Hamburg, 24 February (Argus) — Suppliers in southern Germany are lowering gasoline prices compared with the nationwide average on ample supply and slow demand. Gasoline availability in Southern Germany has remained sufficient enough to cover local demand even though refinery outages hampered supply, because demand has remained slow, around Karlsruhe especially. This has forced some suppliers to keep prices well below the national average. Gasoline prices in the region have fallen significantly compared with the rest of the of Germany with discounts of over €2,20/100l in the past week. Production at the Bayernoil consortium's 215,000 b/d Vohburg-Neustadt refinery in Bavaria and the Miro joint venture's 310,000 b/d Karlsruhe refinery is still restricted. Both facilities experienced technical problems within days of each other at the end of January. While a third of Miro's production capacity is expected to remain offline until the beginning of March, the operators of the Bayernoil refinery began the process of bringing the affected units back online on Sunday. Meanwhile, suppliers in Cologne are selling gasoline with a premium of up to €1,60/100l to the national average. This sudden price jump points toward reduced availability at Shell's 334,000 b/d Rhineland refinery complex. Although traders in the region have not reported any gasoline shortages, the upcoming end of crude refining at the 147,000 b/d Wesseling plant of the Rhineland refinery in March could already be having an effect on prices. By Natalie Muller Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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