A natural gas pipeline blast in eastern Venezuela is having far-reaching impact on the country's crude and petrochemical operations, highlighting the role of gas in sustaining the fragile national oil industry.
By knocking out the Pigap 2 gas compression complex, the 20 March blast shut in around 20,000 b/d of Venezuelan state-owned PdV's Santa Barbara light crude production for up to six weeks, according to multiple incident reports seen by Argus.
The blast took down up to 1bn cf/d of associated gas production as well.
One of Venezuela's legacy grades, 39°API Santa Barbara crude is used for blending with extra-heavy crude from the Orinoco oil belt to produce 16°API Merey for export.
The incident took place within a dense grid of crude and gas pipelines and valves that transports gas to Pigap 2 where it is compressed and reinjected into oil fields.
The grid connected to the blast-damaged 36-inch gas pipeline also directs light crude and associated gas to Orinoco heavy crude blending, upgrading and petrochemical plants at the Jose complex on the coast of Anzoategui state. Among the plants that have been shut down or curtailed for lack of gas are Mitsubishi-led methanol producer Metor, Eni-led Supermetanol and fertilizer producer Fertinitro led by state-owned Pequiven.
A senior PdV eastern division official describes the gas and crude pipeline grid where the blast occurred as "critical to the company's upstream crude and gas operations in Monagas."
A preliminary damage assessment of the ruptured gas pipeline said repairs could take up to six weeks, but the PdV manager said repairs could be completed in less than a month. "We hope to restart the 36-inch gas pipeline by 15 April," he said.
The accident is the latest setback for PdV, which had tentatively recovered its production to more than 500,000 b/d in recent weeks. The government of President Nicolas Maduro routinely blames US sanctions and sabotage for industrial accidents.
