PdV oil ops taking longer to restore than power

Venezuela´s state-owned PdV is struggling to restore its upstream and downstream operations that were mostly shut down after a catastrophic nationwide blackout that started to ease yesterday.

Three heavy crude upgraders, a blending plant and other facilities at the Jose terminal in Anzoátegui state remain suspended even though the Barbacoa-Jose power transmission line has been restored, PdV officials tell Argus.

The Jose complex is the heart of PdV´s processing operations with foreign partners for the vast Orinoco extra-heavy oil belt.

A major constraint is personnel. "People are very preoccupied with their families right now, and workers have no access to transport," one of the PdV officials said. "Upstream the reservoirs are affected by the unplanned shutdown. In the west there are severe power problems, and the east has reservoir pressure problems."

The halted upgraders are PetroPiar with Chevron, PetroMonagas with Russia´s Rosneft, and PetroCedeño with Total and Equinor. The three plants have nameplate synthetic crude production capacity of around 450,000 b/d. Also affected is the 160,000 b/d blending facility Sinovensa that PdV runs with China´s CNPC.

The operational obstacles arising from the prolonged blackout come on top of a diluent shortage resulting from US sanctions that were imposed on 28 January. Venezuela´s Orinoco crude needs naphtha to transport it to Jose for processing. Most of it came from the US before the sales were banned.

Before the blackout, Venezuela had been producing around 950,000 b/d of crude. Exports are now backed up, with roughly 14mn bl floating offshore because of an effective cut-off of the US market caused by the sanctions.

Power has now been restored in much of Caracas, but supply is still limited, erratic or out altogether there and in other parts of Venezuela. The record power outage that originated in the Guri hydroelectric complex and associated transmission line started on 7 March.

The blackout swept the Opec country amid a tense political stand-off between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who is recognized by most Western countries as interim president of Venezuela.