Page 14 - LatAmOil Week 43 2020

LatAmOil COLOMBIA LatAmOil

Bayón went on to say that Ecopetrol’s total The NOC’s third-quarter results were made
production had reached 697,700 barrels of oil public on the same day that Colombia’s Deputy
equivalent per day in the third quarter. Finance Minister Juan Alberto Londono said he
This was about 3.1% down on the figure of expected the country’s petroleum output to drop
720,000 boepd that was reported in the same to 654,000 boepd this year. He was speaking
period of 2019, according to data published by during a presentation to members of the con-
Reuters. gressional economic committees. ™

VENEZUEL A
PdVSA expects per-barrel oil

export earnings to sink in 2021

VENEZUELA’S state-run oil company PdVSA barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in September.
expects its earnings from oil exports next year to This was the lowest monthly figure reported
drop by nearly half, averaging $35 per barrel for since 2003, and it was also considerably below
a basket of locally produced crudes, consisting this year’s record of 882,000 bpd in January.
mainly of heavy grades such as Merey and some Nevertheless, PdVSA said in the 2021 budget
refined petroleum products. report that it expected to produce around 1.8mn
This would represent a 41.67% fall from bpd of crude next year, Reuters noted. The com-
this year’s figure of $60 per barrel, according to pany did not say how it planned to boost output.
a copy of the company’s 2021 budget cited by Sanctions have also impaired Venezuela’s
Reuters. ability to sell its crude on world markets, as evi-
PdVSA’s expectations of lower earnings stem denced by the fact that the country’s oil invento-
from the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) ries have risen by 84% over the last few weeks.
pandemic and slower economic activity. These Cash-strapped PdVSA has seen export vol-
developments have compounded the challenges umes decline as a result of US trade restrictions
that Venezuela’s oil sector was already facing, designed to discourage investment in Venezue-
such as lack of access to world markets as a result la’s oil industry.
of the US sanctions regime. The administration of US President Donald
The company may also be affected by the Trump began tightening sanctions in early 2019
worsening of the domestic economy. In its in a bid to oust Venezuela’s socialist president,
budget report, PdVSA said it anticipated infla- Nicolas Maduro, from power. Washington backs
tion to hit 174,676% by December 2021. By the interim government led by opposition leader
contrast, statistics from Venezuela’s central Juan Guaido, who claims that Maduro used
bank put inter-annual inflation rates at 1,813% fraudulent means to secure re-election in late
in September. 2018.
These challenges have affected production, as The US has traditionally been the principal
evidenced by the fact that the country recently market for the Latin American country’s crude
informed OPEC that it had produced 397,000 exports. ™

Venezuela produced 397,000 bpd of oil in September (Photo: File)

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 29•October•2020