PdV soaking up condensate to sustain Merey output

Market: Condensate, Crude oil, Oil products
19/05/21

Venezuela's state-owned PdV is increasingly reliant on blendstocks to shore up its production of 16°API Merey, an export blend derived from the Orinoco extra-heavy oil belt.

One key input is condensate, which allows PdV to divert more of its limited light grades — 42°API Santa Barbara and 30°API Mesa — to its halting refinery operations rather than for blending. PdV sources about 10,000 b/d of 52°API condensate from the Cardon 4 offshore natural gas venture owned by Spain's Repsol and Italy's Eni and another 20,000 b/d of 45°API condensate from its once-thriving Furrial and Punta de Mata areas in Monagas state, a senior PdV upstream official in Caracas told Argus.

Cardon 4, a 50:50 joint venture between the two EU oil companies that operates the 350mn cf/d shallow-water Perla field, is the only 100pc private-sector hydrocarbons venture in Venezuela. While PdV is mandated by Venezuelan law to control oil joint ventures, it has no required role in gas ventures. The field's associated liquids, considered a legal gray area, are now critical to PdV's blending of 8°-10°API Orinoco crude to make Merey, the grade favored by Chinese refiners.

PdV loads up to 200,000 bl of Perla condensate per voyage from the 305,000 b/d Cardon refinery terminal to the Jose complex in Anzoategui state, where its Orinoco blending operations are located.

Repsol did not respond to requests for comment on Cardon 4 condensate. Eni declined to comment.

"It's only about 30,000 b/d of condensate, but the 45-52°API grades mean we can produce more Merey with less light crude," a PdV Orinoco division official told Argus.

PdV is also relying on naphtha produced at the partially operational 940,000 b/d CRP refining complex on Paraguana and the 190,000 b/d Puerto La Cruz refinery in Anzoategui as diluent to produce and transport the Orinoco crude. The company used to source naphtha from US refiners before the US imposed oil sanctions on Venezuela in January 2019.

The condensate, naphtha and light cracked product from Cardon's fluid catalytic cracker total around 60,000-70,000 b/d of diluent and blendstock that has enabled PdV to boost the Orinoco division's total crude output to around 345,000 b/d, according to daily operational reports obtained by Argus.

The condensate in particular has freed up the light grades for its newly restarted Puerto La Cruz refinery that currently is processing about 80,000 b/d at one distillation unit, yielding some diesel for the local transportation and electricity market, and naphtha.

The blendstocks go mainly to a handful of PdV's Orinoco joint ventures, including PetroMonagas in which PdV is partnered with Russian state investors, and the PetroIndependencia and PetroPiar ventures in which Chevron holds minority stakes.

PetroPiar had been producing around 80,000 b/d before a gas flow line blast yesterday downed operations.

Most of PdV's bitumen-rich Merey is exported via intermediaries to China, although Beijing's new taxes on blendstock could narrow Venezuela's oil export options starting in mid-June.

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22/11/24

Cop 29 goes into overtime on finance deadlock

Developing countries' discontent over the climate finance offer is meeting a muted response, writes Caroline Varin Baku, 22 November (Argus) — As the UN Cop 29 climate conference went into overtime, early reactions of consternation towards a new climate finance draft quickly gave way to studious silence, and some new numbers floated by developing nations. Parties are negotiating a new collective quantified goal — or climate finance target — building on the $100bn/yr that developed countries agreed to deliver to developing countries over 2020-25. The updated draft of the new finance goal text — the centrepiece of this Cop — proposes a figure of $250bn/yr by 2035, "from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources". This is the developed country parties' submission, the Cop 29 presidency acknowledged. Developing nations have been waiting for this number for months, and calling on developed economies to come up with one throughout this summit. They rejected the offer instantly. "The [$250bn/yr] offered by developed countries is a spit in the face of vulnerable nations like mine," Panama's lead climate negotiator, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, said. Negotiating group the Alliance of Small Island States called it "a cap that will severely stagnate climate action efforts". The African Group of Negotiators and Colombia called it "unacceptable". This is far off the mark for developing economies, which earlier this week floated numbers of $440bn-600bn/yr for a public finance layer. They also called for $1.3 trillion/yr in total climate finance from developed countries, a sum which the new text instead calls for "all actors" to work toward. China reiterated on 21 November that "the voluntary support" of the global south was not to be counted towards the goal. A UN-mandated expert group indicated that the figure put forward by developed countries "is too low" and not consistent with the Paris Agreement goals. The new finance goal for developing countries, based on components that it covers, should commit developed countries to provide at least $300bn/yr by 2030 and $390bn/yr by 2035, it said. Brazil indicated that it is now pushing for these targets. The final amount for the new finance goal could potentially be around $300bn-350bn/yr, a Somalian delegate told Argus . A goal of $300bn/yr by 2035 is achievable with projected finance, further reforms and shareholder support at multilateral development banks (MDBs), and some growth in bilateral funding, climate think-tank WRI's finance programme director, Melanie Robinson, said. "Going beyond [$300bn/yr] would even be possible if a high proportion of developing countries' share of MDB finance is included," she added. All eyes turn to the EU Unsurprisingly, developed nations offered more muted responses. "It has been a significant lift over the past decade to meet the prior goal [of $100bn/yr]," a senior US official said, and the new goal will require even more ambition and "extraordinary reach". The US has just achieved its target to provide $11bn/yr in climate finance under the Paris climate agreement by 2024. But US climate funding is likely to dry up once president-elect Donald Trump, a climate sceptic who withdrew the US from the Paris accord during his first term, takes office. Norway simply told Argus that the delegation was "happier" with the text. The EU has stayed silent, with all eyes on the bloc as the US' influence wanes. The EU contributed €28.6bn ($29.8bn) in climate finance from public budgets in 2023. Developed nations expressed frustration towards the lack of progress on mitigation — actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Mentions of fossil fuels have been removed from new draft texts, including "transitioning away" from fossil fuels. This could still represent a potential red line for them. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Opinion: Bridging the divide

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Opinion: Bridging the divide

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Cop: Brazil eyes $300bn/yr for climate finance goal

22/11/24

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22/11/24

Cop: Brazil eyes $300bn/yr for climate finance goal

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Cop: Drafts point to trade-off on finance, fossil fuels

22/11/24

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Singapore light distillate stocks hit seven-week high

22/11/24

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22/11/24

Singapore light distillate stocks hit seven-week high

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