PdV to resume light crude imports in late 2015

Venezuela´s state-owned PdV will resume at least 4mn bl of light crude imports in the second half of 2015 during planned maintenance turnarounds at its extra-heavy crude upgraders and blending facility, senior PdV officials said.

The light crude, which is likely to come from Algeria or Nigeria, will be used to blend with extra-heavy crude from the vast Orinoco oil belt that is normally processed together with a naphtha diluent in the upgraders and blending plant as diluted crude oil (DCO).

The extra-heavy and light oil blend generally yields 16˚API Merey crude, most of which PdV exports to China and India.

Without the light crude, PdV and its foreign partners would have to shut in wells. "No refinery is designed to process DCO," says Ruben Figuera, board member of PdV´s CVP division that runs the Faja joint ventures. He noted that the mix of extra-heavy crude with Algerian Saharan Blend earlier this year yielded a premium of $10-20/bl over DCO on the international market.

The plants are located in the Jose industrial complex on the Caribbean coast, at least 200km (122mi) north of the Junin section of the Orinoco belt, known in Spanish as the Faja.

The Sinovensa blending plant will undergo 30-35 days of maintenance in August 2015. Sinovensa is controlled by PdV with a 60pc stake. China´s state-owned CNPC owns 40pc. The plant receives DCO from Carabobo on the eastern end of the Faja. In contrast to the upgraders, Sinovensa blends the DCO with PdV´s 30˚API Mesa or 39˚API Santa Barbara crude from aging fields in eastern Venezuela. Depending on the availability of the domestic light grades, PdV may import light crude to maintain Sinovensa´s Faja production during the upcoming turnaround.

PdV´s 100pc-owned PetroAnzoategui upgrader in Jose will enter a 60-day turnaround in October 2015. PetroAnzoategui upgrades DCO from the Junin section of the Faja to 22˚API.

PetroPiar and PetroMonagas are scheduled for 60-day turnarounds in June and October 2016, respectively, completing the maintenance cycle of the five facilities. In all three cases, PdV plans to import light crude for blending to sustain production.

PetroMonagas, which upgrades DCO from Carabobo to 16˚API, is a joint venture between PdV (83.3pc) and Russia´s state-controlled Rosneft (16.7pc). PetroPiar, which upgrades DCO from the Ayacucho section to 26˚API, is a 70:30 venture between PdV and Chevron.

PdV purchased two 2mn bl cargoes of 45˚API Saharan Blend from Algeria´s state-owned Sonatrach in late 2014. The crude was used to blend with production associated with the PetroCedeño upgrader, which underwent 65-70 days of maintenance that ended in late January 2015. PdV holds 60pc of PetroCedeño. Its partners are France´s Total and Norway´s Statoil with 30.3pc and 9.7pc, respectively.

PetroCedeño, the most advanced of the upgraders, processes the 8.3˚API Orinoco crude from the Faja´s Junin section into 32˚API Zuata Sweet synthetic crude.

PdV is stepping up the frequency of maintenance at the upgraders to every two to three years, compared with a previous four years. The facilities are subject to corrosion because of the acidity and heavy metals associated with extra-heavy Orinoco crude.

In anticipation of the upcoming turnarounds, PdV could purchase more Saharan Blend or 34˚API Bonny Light from Nigeria.

During a 15-16 April press tour of the upgraders and the Faja, PdV chief executive Eulogio del Pino said he met with Opec ambassadors last week to promote joint ventures in which west African grades would be imported, blended with Orinoco crude, and marketed jointly with state-run firms such as Sonatrach.

PdV´s four upgraders and Sinovensa are currently processing a combined 828,000 b/d of DCO, including about 50,000 b/d of early production from PdV´s new Faja joint venture projects.

Of the seven new joint ventures, PetroCarabobo and PetroIndependencia account for about 17,000 b/d each.

"Early production is growing fast," Figuera said, noting that new pipelines have replaced most of the trucks that had been used to evacuate the crude after initial production began in 2012.

The 400,000 b/d PetroCarabobo project, considered the most advanced, is led by PdV with 71pc. Its partners are Spain´s Repsol with 11pc, India´s ONGC Videsh with 11pc and Indian Oil and Oil India with 3.5pc apiece.

The PetroCarabobo project is designed to upgrade half of the production to 32˚API, and use it to blend with the other half to produce 16˚-22˚API crude.

France´s Technip has completed basic front-end engineering (FEED) for the PetroCarabobo upgrader, which would be located in the $4.3bn Carabobo industrial complex in the Faja.

The PetroCarabobo partners will take a final investment decision in first quarter 2016, Figuera said, noting that FID has already been taken in practice based on a commitment for a new 60,000 b/d central processing facility, which will bring total capacity to 90,000 b/d.

PdV holds 60pc of 400,000 b/d PetroIndependencia, also based in Carabobo. Chevron holds 34pc, Japan´s Inpex and Mitsubishi 5pc and local firm Suelopetrol 1pc.

The Carabobo industrial complex would encompass six upgraders totaling 1.2bn of capacity, in addition to solids and liquid handling and industrial services.

Unlike the other six new Orinoco joint ventures, PdV´s PetroJunin project with 40pc partner Eni of Italy would supply the planned 350,000 b/d PetroBicentenario refinery in Jose. Eni and Italian engineering firm Saipem are 56pc advanced on a basic FEED contract for the facility.

pg/ts

Send comments to feedback@argusmedia.com

Request more information about Argus' energy and commodity news, data and analysis services.

Related News