US Democrats defend Venezuela sanctions policy
President Joe Biden's administration is justified in holding fire on new sanctions against Venezuela, a decision that will allow Chevron to maintain its foothold in the country, Democratic lawmakers said today.
The Biden administration has indicated it does not plan to respond to the Venezuelan government's crackdown on the political opposition by imposing tougher sanctions against Caracas' oil sector. The decision helps prevent a sudden economic crisis in Venezuela that would result in increased immigration, House Foreign Affairs Committee member Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said today.
House Foreign Affairs Committee's western hemisphere panel chair Maria Salazar (R-Florida) today accused Chevron and other foreign oil companies operating in Venezuela of underwriting the Maduro government's campaign of repression.
"American and European oil companies led by Chevron, Repsol, Eni and Maurel & Prom have increased their oil pumping, and their profits are directly fueling the tyrannical machinery of oppression," Salazar said. "I am very much pro energy sector, making a lot of money, but there are lines you do not cross when profiting from other people's miseries." Salazar showed charts purporting to show that Chevron has made $5bn in revenues since the Biden administration allowed it to resume Venezuela operations in December 2022.
"I would like to use your Chevron charts in my Natural Resources Committee — I am putting that on the record," representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-California) told Salazar. The Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee earlier this week held a discussion on "Holding Big Oil Accountable for Extortion, Collusion, and Pollution."
Salazar contended that the Biden administration had a political reason to protect Venezuela's oil sector. "We know very well that we are in an election cycle and that the White House needs cheap gas at the pump."
US crude imports from Venezuela averaged 190,000 b/d in January-June, less than 3pc of total imports, according to Energy Information Administration data.
Chevron was not immediately available to comment. Chevron, Repsol and Eni have exemptions from US sanctions allowing them to load Venezuelan crude, but those exports are typically made under crude-for-debt arrangements, rather than for cash. Much of the Venezuelan oil sector is already subject to US sanctions, forcing PdV to rely on shadow fleet tankers and intermediaries to channel exports to buyers in China's Shandong region.
Maduro proclaimed himself the winner of the 28 July election and has forced his election rival Edmundo Gonzalez to flee the country after issuing an arrest warrant against him earlier this month. The Venezuelan opposition has produced electoral records to show that Gonzalez likely won the 28 July presidential election, a claim backed by Washington.
But the Biden administration has not recognized Gonzalez as president-elect. US officials appear to believe they still have time to figure out the best combination of diplomacy and sanctions to enable a power transition in Venezuela before Maduro's current term expires in January.
"There's a lot that can happen between an election and the inauguration, and that's certainly the way we're looking at the situation now," deputy assistant secretary of state Kevin Sullivan told the House Foreign Affairs Committee panel today.
Not recognizing Gonzalez as president-elect prevents Maduro from casting his rival as an American proxy, Castro said. "I would argue that we tried that with [Juan] Guaido, and it all fell apart."
The US administration under former president Donald Trump in January 2019 recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate leader and imposed severe sanctions to force Maduro from power. Guaido fled to the US in 2022.
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Vertex Energy files for bankruptcy, seeks sale
Vertex Energy files for bankruptcy, seeks sale
Houston, 25 September (Argus) — Specialty refiner Vertex Energy has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in a US court following a failed foray into renewable fuels production at its 88,000 b/d Mobile, Alabama, refinery. Vertex has entered into a restructuring support agreement with its lenders and secured $80mn of new funding to finance its day-to-day business operations, the company said late Tuesday. The refiner is also considering a "more value-maximizing sale transaction" and expects to confirm its chapter 11 bankruptcy plan by the end of the year, according to the 24 September press release. Vertex announced in May this year that it would "pause" renewable diesel production at its Alabama refinery and return the unit to producing fossil fuel products. The company later said it would use a third quarter turnaround to return the Alabama plant's converted hydrocracking unit to processing fossil fuel feedstocks and be back online in the fourth quarter. Vertex also operates a re-refinery near New Orleans, Louisiana, that produces low-sulfur vacuum gas oil (VGO) and multiple used motor oil (UMO) processing plants and collection facilities along the Gulf coast. Refiners have faced mixed fortunes in recent years with their investments in renewable fuels after a glut of new supply flooded markets and depressed renewable credit prices. US independent refiner Delek announced in August that it is temporarily idling three biodiesel plants in Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi as it explores alternative uses for the sites. Chevron said earlier this year it was indefinitely closing two biodiesel plants in Wisconsin and Iowa due to market conditions. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Helene shuts in about 16pc of US Gulf oil: Update 2
Helene shuts in about 16pc of US Gulf oil: Update 2
Adds daily spot market crude pricing information. New York, 24 September (Argus) — Tropical storm Helene, which is expected to develop into a hurricane on Wednesday before coming ashore in Florida Thursday, has shut in about 16pc of US Gulf of Mexico oil output. Around 284,000 b/d of US offshore oil output was off line as of 12:30pm ET, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), while 208mn cf/d of natural gas production, or 11pc of the region's output, was also off line. Operators have so far evacuated workers from four offshore production platforms. Helene was last about 175 miles east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, according to a 2pm ET advisory from the US National Hurricane Center, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. The current forecast has the center of Helene entering the eastern Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning and moving north-northeast toward a possible landfall near the Florida panhandle region late Thursday. By then it will have strengthened into a major hurricane, with winds of at least 111mph, according to forecasts. While the storm will largely pass to the east of most offshore oil and gas production areas, companies started suspended some operations on Sunday. Chevron began evacuating workers and shutting in its Blind Faith and Petronius platforms. "While we are also transporting nonessential personnel from our four other Chevron-operated Gulf of Mexico platforms, production there remains at normal levels," the company said. Shell said Monday it had shut in output from its Stones facility and curtailed production from the Appomattox platform, both off the coast of Louisiana. The company was also relocating non-essential workers from its assets in the Mars corridor, and suspending some drilling operations. Equinor said it was shutting down the Titan oil platform as a precaution. BP had started to shut in production at its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms, southeast of New Orleans, and was curtailing output from its Argos and Atlantis facilities, as well as removing non-essential staff. Offshore spot prices rise slightly The Na Kika platform is connected by pipeline to the Shell-operated Delta pipeline system, which carries Heavy Louisiana Sweet (HLS) crude to shore. During trading on Tuesday, October HLS rose by 20¢/bl relative to the light sweet crude benchmark in Cushing, Oklahoma, to an 80¢/bl discount. The October US pipeline trade month ends Wednesday. The Thunder Horse platform production is marketed as part of a sour crude stream by the same name that is priced at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Pipeline's (LOOP) facility in Clovelly, Louisiana, where it has dedicated underground cavern storage, as does Mars. On Tuesday, Thunder Horse traded at a 50¢/bl discount to the Cushing benchmark, after wide discussion circled a 40¢/bl discount in the prior session. Medium sour secondary benchmark Mars tightened its gap to the Cushing basis by 30¢/bl to a volume-weighted average discount of roughly $1.55/bl. Crude production from the 140,000 b/d capacity Argos platform feeds into the Cameron Highway Oil Pipeline System (CHOPS), which carries Southern Green Canyon (SGC) crude to the Texas Gulf coast. Argos platform serves the Mad Dog 2 field development that came online last year. Atlantis production also feeds into SGC. No SGC transactions were reported on Tuesday. It was offered as low as $1/bl under the Cushing benchmark, lower than trade at a 50¢/bl discount in the prior session. US offshore production was disrupted earlier this month when Hurricane Francine made landfall as a category 1 storm. Up to 42pc of production was offline at one point. The offshore Gulf of Mexico accounts for around 15pc of total US crude output and 5pc of US natural gas production. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Helene shuts in about 16pc of US Gulf oil: Update
Helene shuts in about 16pc of US Gulf oil: Update
Adds BSEE production shut in data, updated storm info. New York, 24 September (Argus) — Tropical storm Helene, which is expected to develop into a hurricane on Wednesday before coming ashore in Florida Thursday, has shut in about 16pc of US Gulf of Mexico oil output. Around 284,000 b/d of US offshore oil output was off line as of 12:30pm ET, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), while 208mn cf/d of natural gas production, or 11pc of the region's output, was also off line. Operators have so far evacuated workers from four offshore production platforms. Helene was last about 175 miles east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, according to a 2pm ET advisory from the US National Hurricane Center, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. The current forecast has the center of Helene entering the eastern Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning and moving north-northeast toward a possible landfall near the Florida panhandle region late Thursday. By then it will have strengthened into a major hurricane, with winds of at least 111mph, according to forecasts. While the storm will largely pass to the east of most offshore oil and gas production areas, companies started suspended some operations on Sunday. BP said Monday it had started to shut in production at its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms, southeast of New Orleans, and was curtailing output from its Argos and Atlantis facilities, as well as removing non-essential staff. Chevron began evacuating workers and shutting in its Blind Faith and Petronius platforms. "While we are also transporting nonessential personnel from our four other Chevron-operated Gulf of Mexico platforms, production there remains at normal levels," the company said. Shell said Monday it had shut in output from its Stones facility and curtailed production from the Appomattox platform, both off the coast of Louisiana. The company was also relocating non-essential workers from its assets in the Mars corridor, and suspending some drilling operations. Equinor said it was shutting down the Titan oil platform as a precaution. US offshore production was disrupted earlier this month when Hurricane Francine came ashore near Morgan City, Louisiana, as a category 1 storm. Up to 42pc of production was offline at one point. The offshore Gulf of Mexico accounts for around 15pc of total US crude output and 5pc of US natural gas production. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Opec sees oil demand growing to 2050
Opec sees oil demand growing to 2050
Dubai, 24 September (Argus) — Opec has again revised up its long-term global oil demand growth forecasts, doubling down on its position that oil and gas are here to stay for the foreseeable future. "There is no peak oil on the horizon," Opec secretary general Haitham al-Ghais said in the organisation's latest World Oil Outlook (WOO) released today. "The fantasy of phasing out oil and gas bears no relation to fact." This echoes remarks made earlier this year by state-controlled Saudi Aramco's chief executive Amin Nasser, flies in the face of some countries' moves towards carbon neutrality and keeps Opec at odds with the IEA, which recently said oil demand will peak at 105.6mn b/d in 2029, and gradually decline from the 2030s. "Over the past year, there has been further recognition that the world can only phase in new energy sources at scale, when they are genuinely ready, economically competitive, acceptable to consumers and with the right infrastructure in place," al Ghais said. Opec sees global demand for oil continuing to grow for at least the next two and a half decades, reaching 120mn b/d by 2050, from 102.2mn b/d in 2023, "with the potential for it to be higher." This is the first edition of the WOO to include forecasts through to 2050. By 2045, Opec sees oil demand at 118.9mn b/d, higher by almost 3mn b/d compared with last year's report and by more than 9mn b/d from the 2022 WOO. The latest report has revised up oil demand projections for 2030, 2035 and 2040 by 1.3mn b/d, 2mn b/d and 2.4mn b/d, respectively. The growth in oil demand to 2050 will predominantly come from outside the OECD, according to the Opec forecasts. OECD oil demand will grow only marginally to 45.9mn b/d by 2030 from 45.7mn b/d in 2023, but then begin to shrink steadily after and reach 35.6mn b/d by 2050, marking a 10.1mn b/d contraction over the 27 year forecast period. In contrast, non-OECD growth looks set to grow strongly over the forecast period, reaching 84.6mn b/d by 2050, from 56.6mn b/d in 2023, with around 75pc of that growth in the first 17 years to 2040. India will account for 8mn b/d of growth, or close to 30pc of the non-OECD total, with China contributing just 2.5mn b/d. The latter is affected by more modest medium-term economic growth, a transition towards services and a continued push towards electric vehicles. Keep on spending Opec again underlined the need to keep investing in order to reliably meet this expected oil demand growth. It said $17.5 trillion are required between this year and 2050, or around $640 bn/yr on average, of which $14.2 trillion, or 81pc, will need to be directed towards the upstream. Investment permitting, Opec sees global liquids supply rising to 113.5mn b/d by 2030, 119mn b/d by 2045 and 120.2mn b/d by 2050, from 102mn b/d in 2023. Around 70pc of this 18.2mn b/d increase is forecast to come from countries that today make up the Opec+ alliance, which should help lift its share of global supply to 52pc by 2050, from 49pc in 2023. Supply from outside the Opec+ group is forecast to rise dramatically to 59mn b/d by 2030, from 51.7mn b/d in 2023, but then begin to fall gradually from the early 2030s to 57.3mn b/d by 2050, primarily due to declining US production. Opec sees US output peaking at around 23mn b/d in 2030, before plateauing and declining slowly to 19.4mn b/d by 2050. By Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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