Venezuelan oil union arrests unsettle industry critics
The arrests are a shot across the bows for mid-level officials seeking to balance out the Maduro administration's narrative
The recent arrests of two prominent Venezuelan oil union officials are having a chilling effect on local industry sources who have long filled an information void at state-owned PdV.
National oil federation FUTPV's director, Eudis Girot, and retired refinery operator Guillermo Zarraga have been charged by the attorney general's office with treason, terrorism and organised criminal association. Girot has also been charged with leaking internal information to international news media, and Zarraga has been charged with causing a 27 October explosion that destroyed a 120,000 b/d crude distillation unit at PdV's 635,000 b/d Amuay refinery.
Girot has denied the charges, while Zarraga's family says the charges are false. Both are jailed in Caracas at facilities run by Venezuela's DGCIM and Sebin intelligence agencies. Another senior oil union official who was forced into hiding tells Argus the arrests seek to muzzle PdV and oil ministry officials who regularly leak information after the government suspended the publication of all official data four years ago.
The ministry sends monthly crude production numbers to Opec, but PdV and the ministry have not issued any official operational and financial data since the end of 2016, just as the industry's decline was accelerating. Official Opec data itself is routinely at odds with estimates from secondary sources, including Argus.
Venezuelan mid-level officials who leak internal data such as refinery runs and field-level output often are motivated by a desire to counter the rosier official narrative with more realistic, technical interpretations of chronic industry woes.
Oil minister Tareck El Aissami ordered the arrests after Girot and other critics disclosed that the Nabarima floating storage vessel holding 1.3mn bl of crude was at risk of sinking in the Gulf of Paria, a senior PdV official tells Argus. PdV is currently draining the vessel in a heavily guarded, piecemeal operation that is widely considered an environmental risk, rebuffing US-cleared offers by its Italian minority partner, Eni, to carry out a more efficient ship-to-ship transfer.
Frequent detailed leaks of PdV's failed attempts to restart gasoline production since March at the 305,000 b/d Cardon and 140,000 b/d El Palito refineries also angered El Aissami and PdV chief executive Asdrubal Chavez. "El Aissami and Chavez are going to make examples of Girot, Zarraga and others to send a message to critics and unauthorised information suppliers at the oil ministry and PdV," the PdV official says.
Giving up on Guaido
Some senior Venezuelan oil union officials openly backed the country's US-supported opposition leader, Juan Guaido, after he declared an interim administration in place of President Nicolas Maduro in January 2019. Since then, many of Guaido's associates have been detained or fled abroad, including most recently Leopoldo Lopez, who is now in Spain. Maduro remains firmly in power despite crippling US sanctions.
Several of the union officials and PdV workers now say they feel betrayed by Guaido and the four main opposition political parties that support him. "Some opposition leaders are trying to make money any way they can to take their families out of Venezuela permanently, and the ones who cannot leave for whatever reason are looking for ways to mend their differences with Maduro," one of the union officials says. "Venezuelans who believed in Guaido have become enormously disenchanted and feel betrayed by the opposition. It is now clear to everyone that the opposition leadership is pursuing its own interests and is not capable of fixing Venezuela's problems."
Related news posts
Lyondell Houston refinery to run at 95pc in 2Q
Lyondell Houston refinery to run at 95pc in 2Q
Houston, 26 April (Argus) — LyondellBasell plans to run its 264,000 b/d Houston, Texas, refinery at average utilization rates of 95pc in the second quarter and may convert its hydrotreaters to petrochemical production when the plant shuts down in early 2025. The company's sole crude refinery ran at an average 79pc utilization rate in the first quarter due to planned maintenance on a coking unit , the company said in earnings released today . "We are evaluating options for the potential reuse of the hydrotreaters at our Houston refinery to purify recycled and renewable cracker feedstocks," chief executive Peter Vanacker said on a conference call today discussing earnings. Lyondell said last year a conversion would feed the company's two 930,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr steam crackers at its Channelview petrochemicals complex. The company today said it plans to make a final investment decision on the conversion in 2025. Hydrotreater conversions — such as one Chevron completed last year at its 269,000 b/d El Segundo, California, refinery — allow the unit to produce renewable diesel, which creates renewable naphtha as a byproduct. Renewable naphtha can be used as a gasoline blending component, steam cracker feed or feed for hydrogen producing units, according to engineering firm Topsoe. Lyondell last year said the Houston refinery will continue to run until early 2025, delaying a previously announced plan to stop crude processing by the end of 2023. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US M&A deals dip after record 1Q: Enverus
US M&A deals dip after record 1Q: Enverus
New York, 26 April (Argus) — US oil and gas sector mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are likely to slow for the rest of the year following a record $51bn in deals in the first quarter, consultancy Enverus says. Following an unprecedented $192bn of upstream deals last year, the Permian shale basin continued to dominate first-quarter M&A as firms competed for the remaining high-quality inventory on offer. Acquisitions were led by Diamondback Energy's $26bn takeover of Endeavor Energy Resources. Other private operators, such as Mewbourne Oil and Fasken Oil & Ranch, would be highly sought after if they decided to put themselves up for sale, Enverus says. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU adopts Net-Zero Industry Act
EU adopts Net-Zero Industry Act
London, 26 April (Argus) — Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have adopted Net-Zero Industry Act, which plans to allocate funds towards the production of net-zero technologies. The act provides a pathway to scale up development and production of technologies that are critical towards meeting the EU's recommendation of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. This would include solar panels, electrolysers and fuel cells, batteries, heat pumps, onshore and offshore wind turbines, grid technologies, sustainable biomethane, as well as carbon capture and storage (CCS). The act is designed to help simplify the regulatory framework for the manufacture of these technologies in order to incentivise European production and supply. It also sets a target of 40pc production within the EU for its annual "deployment needs" of these technologies by 2030. Time limits will be instated on permit grants for manufacturing projects, at 12 months if the manufacturing capacity is under 1 GW/yr and 18 months for those above that. It will introduce time limits of nine months for "net-zero strategic projects" of less than 1 GW/yr and 12 months for those above. This is further complemented by the introduction of net-zero strategic projects for CO2 storage, to help support the development of CCS technology. The act was met with positive reactions from the European Community Shipowners' Association (ECSA), which said the bill will set the benchmark for member states to match 40pc of the deployment needs for clean fuels for shipping with production capacity. ECSA said the Net-Zero Industry Act will be instrumental in supporting the shipping industry to meet targets set under FuelEU Maritime regulations , which are set to come into effect next year. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
New technologies aim to boost SAF production
New technologies aim to boost SAF production
London, 26 April (Argus) — A likely rise in global demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), underpinned by mandates for its use, is encouraging development of new production pathways. While hydrotreated esters and fatty acids synthesised paraffinic kerosine (HEFA-SPK) remains the most common type of SAF available today, much more production will be needed. The International Air Transport Association (Iata) estimated SAF output at around 500,000t in 2023, and expects this to rise to 1.5mn t this year, but that only meets around 0.5pc of global jet fuel demand. An EU-wide SAF mandate will come into effect in 2025 that will set a minimum target of 2pc, with a sub-target for synthetic SAF starting from 2030. This week the UK published its domestic SAF mandate , also targeting a 2pc SAF share in 2025 and introducing a power-to-liquid (PtL) obligation from 2028. New pathways involve different technology to unlock use of a wider feedstock base. US engineering company Honeywell said this week its hydrocracking technology, Fischer-Tropsch (FT) Unicracking, can be used to produce SAF from biomass such as crop residue or wood and food waste. Renewable fuels producer DG Fuels will use the technology for its SAF facility in Louisiana, US. The plant will be able to produce 13,000 b/d of SAF starting from 2028, Honeywell said. The company said its SAF technologies — which include ethanol-to-jet , which converts cellulosic ethanol into SAF — have been adopted at more than 50 sites worldwide including Brazil and China. Honeywell is part of the Google and Boeing-backed United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund , which is aimed at scaling up SAF production. German alternative fuels company Ineratec said this week it will use South African integrated energy firm Sasol's FT catalysts for SAF production. The catalysts will be used in Ineratec's plants, including a PtL facility it is building in Frankfurt, Germany. The plant will be able to produce e-fuels from green hydrogen and CO2, with a capacity of 2,500 t/yr of e-fuels beginning in 2024. The e-fuels will then be processed into synthetic SAF. Earlier this month , ethanol-to-jet producer LanzaJet said it has received funding from technology giant Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, "to continue building its capability and capacity to deploy its sustainable fuels process technology globally". The producer recently signed a licence and engineering agreement with sustainable fuels company Jet Zero Australia to progress development of an SAF plant in north Queensland, Australia. The plant will have capacity of 102mn l/yr of SAF. Polish oil firm Orlen formed a partnership with Japanese electrical engineering company Yakogawa to develop SAF technology . They aim to develop a technological process to synthesise CO2 and hydrogen to form PtL SAF. The SAF will be produced from renewable hydrogen as defined by the recast EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) and bio-CO2 from biomass boilers, Orlen told Argus . By Evelina Lungu Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more