Maurel and Prom to resume operations in Venezuela

Market: Crude oil
08/11/23

France-based upstream oil and gas producer Maurel and Prom said today it will resume operations in Venezuela, after the US lifted sanctions on the south American country's hydrocarbons sector.

Maurel and Prom said it has agreed with state-owned PdV for an immediate restart at the Urdaneta West field, in which the French company's 80pc-owned local unit M&P Iberoamerica has a 40pc share of production. This was equal to around 6,500 b/d in 2022, although the US sanctions meant Maurel and Prom was unable to secure this.

Maurel and Prom said it has also agreed a recovery plan for the $914mn owned to M&P Iberoamerica and for the redevelopment of Urdaneta West, giving it a similar deal to the one Chevron has in Venezuela. The company said it aims to bring gross production at Urdaneta West to 25,000 b/d by the end of 2024, from around 16,500 b/d now, with all capital and operating expenditure funded by organic cash flow generation.

This extra production would contribute to what consensus estimates as a potential 200,000 b/d increase in Venezuelan output thanks to the lifting of sanctions, from 800,000 b/d currently. Chevron plans to add 20,000 b/d by the end of this year, and Italy's Eni could increase output through its minority share in a joint venture with PdV.

All this is dependent on US policy remaining constant. Washington lifted its restrictions on the Venezuelan oil and gas sector for six months on 18 October, conditional on plans for a fair presidential election in 2024 and the release of Americans and other political prisoners it considers to be unjustly detained. Slow movement on the latter could lead to the US reimposing sanctions by the end of November, a Washington official said this week.

By Ben Winkley

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London, 3 May (Argus) — A core group of eight Opec+ members has agreed to accelerate, for a second consecutive month, their plan to unwind some of their production cuts, the Opec secretariat said Saturday. As it did for May, the group will again raise its collective output target by 411,000 b/d in June, three times as much as it had planned in its original roadmap to gradually unwind 2.2mn b/d of crude production cuts by the middle of next year. The original plan envisaged a slow and steady unwind over 18 months from April, with monthly increments of about 137,000 b/d. But today's decision means that the eight — Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Oman and Kazakhstan — will have unwound almost half of the 2.2mn b/d cut in the space of just three months. The decision to maintain this accelerated pace into June is somewhat surprising, given the weakness in oil prices and the outlook for the global economy. The eight's decision last month to deliver a three-in-one hike in May was seen as a key reason for the recent slide in oil prices, alongside US President Donald Trump's tariff policies. Front month Ice Brent futures have fallen by about $13/bl since early April to stand at just over $61/bl. But the eight today pointed to "current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories" as a key factor in its latest decision. It reiterated, as it has in the past, that the gradual monthly increases "may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions." As was the case for May, delegates said that the main driver for the June hike was again a desire to send a message to those countries that have persistently breached their production targets since the start of last year — most notably Kazakhstan and Iraq, which each have significant overproduction to compensate for through the middle of next year. "This measure will provide an opportunity for the participating countries to accelerate their compensation," the secretariat said. This group of eight is due to next meet on 1 June to review market conditions and decide on July production levels. By Nader Itayim, Aydin Calik and Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Opec+ eight to agree another accelerated hike for June

03/05/25

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03/05/25

Opec+ eight to agree another accelerated hike for June

London, 3 May (Argus) — A core group of eight Opec+ members look set to today to accelerate, for a second consecutive month, their plan to unwind some of their production cuts, four delegates told Argus . As it did for May, the group would again raise its collective output target by 411,000 b/d in June, three times as much as it had planned in its original roadmap to gradually unwind 2.2mn b/d of crude production cuts by the middle of next year. The original plan envisaged a slow and steady unwind over 18 months from April, with monthly increments of about 137,000 b/d. But today's decision would mean that the eight — Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Oman and Kazakhstan — will have unwound almost half of the 2.2mn b/d cut in the space of just three months. The decision to maintain this accelerated pace into June would be somewhat surprising, particularly given the weakness in oil prices and the outlook for the global economy. The eight's decision last month to deliver a three-in-one hike in May was seen as a key reason for the recent slide in oil prices, alongside US President Donald Trump's tariff policies. Front month Ice Brent futures have fallen by about $13/bl since early April to stand at just over $61/bl. While Opec+ has said that it is acting to support an expected rise in summer demand, the decision to speed up the output increases once again appears to be driven by a desire to send a message to countries that have persistently breached their production targets — most notably Kazakhstan and Iraq. By Aydin Calik, Bachar Halabi and Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Eight Opec+ members weigh further acceleration

02/05/25

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02/05/25

Eight Opec+ members weigh further acceleration

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02/05/25

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02/05/25

Chevron has not discussed Kazakhstan Opec+ target: CEO

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