Venezuela takes over German nitrogen supplier

Venezuela's government has temporarily taken over the installations of Germany's Linde subsidiary AGA Gas to guarantee nitrogen supplies to state-owned PdV's refineries.

A joint oil ministry and labor ministry resolution dated 1 September justifies the seizure for up to 180 days because AGA Gas has cooperated with US-led "aggression" against Venezuela by cutting off liquid nitrogen supplies needed to manufacture gasoline at the CRP refining complex.

The CRP, comprised of the 305,000 b/d Cardon refinery and 635,000 b/d Amuay refinery, has a nitrogen plant at Amuay which has been inoperative for at least two years, two workers at Amuay tell Argus.

"All efforts to repair the nitrogen unit have failed, making PdV dependent on AGA Gas for nitrogen it refuses to pay for, claiming financial problems it blames on US sanctions," one of the workers said.

Nitrogen is needed for Cardon's naphtha reformer unit, which is currently out of service for repairs, the CRP worker added.

AGA Gas was supplying nitrogen to Cardon until 23 August when the firm's local senior management stopped deliveries to compel PdV to honor its past-due debts.

A union official at AGA Gas tells Argus the government's takeover has roiled workers who fear losing their jobs.

"AGA Gas has been paying our salaries in dollars converted to bolivars, ensuring stable incomes that permit us to provide for our families, but we have no idea what will happen under the new three-person intervention board that will manage the company," the union official said. "Every privately owned company nationalized or seized by the government for the past 20 years has gone bankrupt in less than six months."

The intervention board would consist of two workers and a management representative. Their names have not been disclosed.

Neither Linde not AGA Gas replied to a request for comment.

PdV has been struggling to restart gasoline production at its refineries in the face of a severe fuel shortage that Caracas attributes to a "criminal blockade" by the US.