Saturday, September 30, 2023
HomeHeadlinesPDVSA to restart output at offshore Corocoro field

Subscribe

To our FREE newsletter
Get all the latest maritime news delivered straight to your inbox.

PDVSA to restart output at offshore Corocoro field

Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA is preparing to restart crude output at the offshore Corocoro field as soon as next week, oil union representative Marcos Padovani and two other people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA, as PDVSA is formally known, plans to use the medium Corocoro-grade crude to feed its domestic refineries, said the people. PDVSA is facing a shortage of medium and light crudes, which it also needs to dilute its extra-heavy crude.

The company is currently transporting an electric generator to the field to start output, the people said.

The field, part of the Petrosucre joint venture 74% owned by PDVSA and 26% owned by Italy’s Eni SpA had been idle since 2019, when U.S. sanctions aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro cut off the venture’s access to U.S. customers.

It produced 23,900 barrels per day (bpd) in 2017, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The company is aiming to produce 2,000 bpd initially before ramping up output to 7,000 bpd in one month and 11,000 bpd by October, said Padovani, a representative of the FUTPV union and member of a workers’ council at PDVSA.

Neither PDVSA nor Eni immediately responded to requests for comment.

The additional feedstock for refineries could help ease debilitating fuel shortages that have plagued the crisis-stricken OPEC nation for more than a year.

The crude would be stored on the Nabarima floating storage and offshore (FSO) facility, which experienced mechanical issues last year causing it to tilt, prompting concerns that the crude stored aboard could spill. After correcting the problem, PDVSA completed offloading the crude in April.

Venezuela’s crude output fell to 614,000 bpd in July, down from 633,000 bpd in June, according to figures the country provided to OPEC.

Source: Reuters

Related Posts

Video

Finance & Economy
Shipping News
Ports

Sphinx Investment Corp Increases Stake in OceanPal

On September 28, 2023, an OceanPal SEC filing revealed that Sphinx Investment Corp. had raised its ownership in OceanPal, now holding a substantial stake...

Star Bulk Announces the Repurchase of 10 Million of Its Common Shares

Star Bulk announced that it entered into a Repurchase Agreement (with OCM XL Holdings, LP, a limited partnership incorporated in the Cayman Islands, pursuant...

Trafigura announces executive leadership changes

Trafigura Group Pte Ltd. has announced an evolution of its executive team to further strengthen leadership and focus across its global activities during a...

Woori, HMM, KOBC to buy Polaris in prospective $448 mln deal – report

Polaris Shipping Co. is poised to sell its entire stake at around 600 billion won ($447.5 million) to Woori Private Equity Asset Management Co....

Pyxis Tankers Announces Closing of Ultramax JV Investment

Pyxis Tankers, an international shipping company, reported that on September 14, 2023, the Company closed on its previously announced newly formed drybulk joint venture...

Baltic index snaps 4-day winning streak as capesize rates slip

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk...

Baltic index scales 11-month peak on strong capesize rates

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry...

Baltic index scales over 9-month high on capesize surge

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry...

Baltic index rises to over 4-month high on stronger capesize rates

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry...

Houston-Japan VLGC freight rates reach multi-year high

VLGC freight rates from Houston to Chiba, Japan, reached $245/mt Sept. 21 for the...

Piraeus Port reports strong H1 2023 results

The Piraeus Port Authority SA, which operates Greece’s biggest and busiest port, reported a 48.8-percent increase in pre-tax earnings for H1 2023 – 49.4...

Greece names Thessaloniki port operator preferred bidder for Volos port

Greece’s privatisation agency has named the operator of Thessaloniki port as the preferred bidder for acquiring a 67% stake in the port of Volos,...

Drewry: Port Throughput Index Down 2.1% in July

The Global Container Port Throughput Index fell 2.1% MoM in July 2023, with the small rises recorded in Africa and Oceania having been insufficient...

Vopak: Agreement with Infracapital on sale of Rotterdam chemical terminals

Vopak announces that it has reached an agreement with Infracapital on the sale of its three chemical terminals in Rotterdam (Botlek, TTR and Chemiehaven)...

Port Hedland Iron Ore Exports Edge Up 4% in August

Pilbara Ports Authority has delivered a total monthly throughput of 62.8 million tonnes (Mt) for August 2023, consistent with the August 2022 throughput. The Port...