Regional

Venezuela blackout halts most oil exports, hits crude upgrading

(Reuters) - Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA has been unable to resume crude exports at its primary port since last week’s blackout, according to people familiar with the matter, indicating that the country’s massive power outage is crippling the...

Brazil overtakes Russia as top supplier to China’s independent refineries in Feb

(S&P Global Platts) Surpassing Russia, Brazilian crude oil shipments for China's independent refineries topped the list in February at 2.17 million mt, S&P Global Platts monthly survey showed Tuesday. Total imports from Brazil were just 54,000 mt more than those...

Why billions of barrels of oil go untapped in Brazil

(Bloomberg) There’s enough as-yet-unassigned oil under the Atlantic Ocean off Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro to keep the entire world running for almost six months. So why is the crude just sitting there? A contract dispute between oil giant Petrobras...

Possible oil reserves upsized for Jamaica

The probability of finding oil offshore Jamaica improved to a one-in-five chance of success, based on an independent report utilising 3D data, the Jamaica Gleaner reported on Wednesday. The 2019 report also upsized the 2017 baseline estimates of the quantity...

Half-billion dollars of sanction-stained oil sits off Venezuela

(Bloomberg) Venezuela is running out of space to store its sanction-stained crude that few dare to buy, forcing it to reduce output at a time when the world is thirsty for heavy, sulfurous oil. Tankers holding 8.36 million barrels of...

Pence says ‘it’s time’ for action against Maduro

(CNN) Vice President Mike Pence said the US will impose additional sanctions on Venezuelan leaders and pledged more aid to the region as he called on nations to do more to confront embattled President Nicolas Maduro's government. "To leaders around...

Liza Phase 2 tops list for South America’s 2019 greenfield investments

South America has always been an important playing field for the oilfield service industry. As Brazil is turning more positive towards the international service players, Guyana is stealing some of the thunder as the country is emerging as an...

Next OPEC headache is Brazil’s burgeoning crude production

(Bloomberg) When the giant P-67 floating oil production vessel lit its flare tower earlier this month, it marked the start of a Brazilian supply boom that’s poised to challenge OPEC’s efforts to balance the global market. The mammoth facility -- long and wide enough...

Venezuela’s collapse holds lessons for neighboring Guyana

Venezuela’s slide from top of the heap to a virtual bit player in the oil market is a slow-motion car crash. Production sank progressively from 2.6 million barrels per day (b/d) a decade ago, when it was third in...

Venezuela oil production could fall below 700,000 bpd by 2020

As Guyana prepares for first oil in 2020 from the Liza Phase 1 Development, and multiple additional projects on the horizon, with an estimated ramp up to 750,000 bpd by 2025, its western neighbor Venezuela, could see production drop...

Latest News

Guyana barrels help fill gap as Slovak refiner turns to Latin America for supply

Slovak oil refiner Slovnaft is seeking crude from Latin America as supply disruptions limit access to its traditional sources,...