Maduro ignites political offensive, talks break down

  • Spanish Market: Crude oil, Oil products
  • 12/08/19

Venezuela's US-backed opposition is scrambling to maintain its institutional foothold in the National Assembly in the face of government threats to neutralize it or force early elections.

The protracted political conflict in the Opec country appears to be entering a more ominous stage. Already the target of escalating US sanctions, Venezuela would be left with no internationally recognized democratic institutions should the assembly fall into government hands.

The elected legislature has been controlled by the opposition since January 2016. The current head of the assembly is Juan Guaido, who is recognized as Venezuela's interim president by dozens of western countries, in place of President Nicolas Maduro.

All other institutions, including the supreme court, the armed forces, the central bank, the national electoral council (CNE) and the national constituent assembly (ANC), are controlled by the Maduro government.

The government's internal maneuvering follows another tightening of US sanctions and the effective collapse of Norwegian-sponsored negotiations between the government and opposition in Barbados.

Maduro said at a government rally in Caracas on 10 August that a US "embargo" imposed on 5 August forced him to withdraw his delegates from 8-9 August talks in Barbados with Guaido's representatives.

Days earlier, Maduro ordered ANC president Diosdado Cabello and the supreme court to charge Guaido and opposition lawmakers with treason. With hundreds of political opponents already behind bars or in exile, the threat is not considered hollow.

"As far as President Maduro is concerned the dialogue in Barbados is finished," a presidential palace official tells Argus. "The US government and its puppet Guaido are responsible for its failure."

In recent weeks, Guaido has come under growing pressure from other opposition factions that rejected the talks from the beginning. Maria Corina Machado, head of the Vente Venezuela party, and Venezuela's former UN ambassador Diego Arria, among others, contend that the negotiations are fruitless and only help Maduro to maintain power. Now Guaido seems to be leaning their way.

"A dialogue with a regime that no one believes in is clearly not viable," Guaido said, warning his supporters that a new wave of repression is imminent. "We must warn the international community and prepare ourselves for a political offensive. They're not going to stop us with jail and torture. If the regime does what it plans to do, it will go worse for them, and our response will come."

Cabello gaveled the ANC into session at 2pm ET today to consider motions to strip up to 25 opposition legislators of their congressional immunity.

Since 2016 Maduro's supreme court and subsequently the ANC have whittled down the opposition's presence in the assembly, stripping 22 opposition legislators of their immunity. This includes the three legislators neutralized today when the supreme court upheld an ANC resolution approved in first quarter 2019 stripping them of their immunity — Juan Pablo Garcia of Vente Venezuela, Juan Pablo Guanipa of Primero Justicia, and former central bank chief economist Jose Guerra of Guaido's Voluntad Popular party.

Several of the lawmakers have been arrested, but most have gone into exile to avoid detention.

The government maneuvers over the past 42 months have reduced the number of active opposition legislators to 85. If the ANC executes Maduro's threat to undermine the authority of up to another 25 opposition legislators in a single blow, the number of active deputies would fall to just 60. This would allow the supreme court and the CNE to order the assembly's dissolution and call new legislative elections because of a lack of quorum.

Alternatively, the government could shift the 55 pro-government deputies who left the elected assembly in 2017 to join the ANC to return to the assembly to negotiate alliances with moderately pro-government opposition parties, such as Avanzada Progresista, effectively neutralizing Guaido.

The Norwegian-mediated dialogue in Barbados was supported by the EU, Mexico, Uruguay, Cuba, Russia and China.

Washington has been skeptical from the start. A senior Trump administration official tells Argus that last week's decision to toughen sanctions was intended to put more pressure on Maduro to resign, and scupper a "flawed process in Barbados that Maduro has been manipulating in bad faith to buy time while he works to dismantle the constitutional bases of Guaido's transition presidency."

Government and opposition officials in Caracas say the three-month-long talks failed because Maduro rejected any agreement that would require his departure ahead of new presidential elections.

Maduro had "two inflexible demands," a palace official tells Argus. "He would not resign from the presidency ahead of presidential elections initially agreed in Barbados for April 2020, and national assembly elections currently scheduled for December 2020 would have to be held concurrently with the April 2020 presidential elections."

Maduro was determined to drag out the Barbados talks until the end of 2019, when Guaido's one-year term as National Assembly president would end unless the coalition of opposition parties that won control of the legislature in December 2015 elections voted to re-elect him, the palace official said.


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26/04/24

High inventories pressure Brazil biodiesel prices

High inventories pressure Brazil biodiesel prices

Sao Paulo, 26 April (Argus) — Logistical differentials for Brazilian biodiesel contracts to supply fuel distributors in May and June fell from March and April values, reflecting higher inventories and a bumper crop of soybeans for crushing, which could increase vegetable oil production. The formula for the logistics differential of plants includes the quote of the soybean oil futures contract in Chicago, its differential for export cargoes in the port of Paranagua and the Brazilian real-US dollar exchange rate. It is the portion in the pricing linked to producers' margin. Negotiations for May and June started with plants seeking higher values to recover part of the losses incurred by unscheduled stops , the result of retailers' delays in collecting biodiesel. But the supply glut has not abated, leading to a drop in prices. With higher inventories in the market, fuel distributors stuck close to acquisition goals established by oil regulator ANP for the May-June period. Sales are expected to gain traction over the next two months, as blended diesel demand traditionally gets a seasonal boost from agricultural-sector consumption linked to grain and sugarcane crops. The distribution sector expects an extension of the current supply-demand imbalance, exacerbated by significant volumes of imported diesel at ports and lower-than-expected demand. The situation has generated concern among many participants, who see this trend as a potential sign of non-compliance with the biodiesel blending mandate. ANP data show that the compliance rate with the Brazilian B14 diesel specification dropped to 83.4pc in April from 95.2pc in March, reaching the lowest level since the 2016 start of monitoring. Non-compliance with the minimum biodiesel content accounted for 67pc of the infractions recorded during the period compared to a historical average rate of 47pc. The recent end to a special tax regime for fuel importing companies offered by northern Amapa state's secretary of finance should end a significant source of diesel price distortions and help rebalance supply in the country. Variations The steepest decline in differentials took place in northeastern Bahia state, where premiums for the period ranged from R600-830/m³ (44.35-61.35¢/USG), down from R730-1,020/m³ in the March-April period, according to a recent Argus survey. In the northern microregion of Goias-Tocantins states, the premium range also dropped by around R142/m³ to R300-535/m³ from R440-680/m³. By Alexandre Melo Brazil biodiesel plant differentials R/m³ May/June March/April ± Low High Low High Rio Grande do Sul 110 380 280 450 -120 Sorriso-Nova Mutum 50 340 220 350 -90 Cuiaba-Rondonopolis 80 405 280 450 -123 Northern of Goiás-Tocantins 300 535 440 680 -142 Southern of Goias 350 500 450 650 -125 Parana-Santa Catarina 150 450 400 480 -140 Bahia 600 830 730 1,120 -210 Source: Argus survey Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Lyondell Houston refinery to run at 95pc in 2Q


26/04/24
26/04/24

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


26/04/24
26/04/24

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


26/04/24
26/04/24

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


26/04/24
26/04/24

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.

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