Page 10 - LatAmOil Week 33 2021
P. 10
LatAmOil
G U Y A N A
LatAmOil
These two development projects will eventually be able to deliver up to 50mn cubic feet (1.42mn cubic metres) per day of gas to shore, he noted.
These volumes “will be brought to shore and then transported via a 30-km pipeline into the Wales Development area,” he said. The gas will be processed at “an investment site [that will] create jobs in an area that is already depressed due to the closure of [sugar] estates,” he said.
Guyanese officials have said in the past that associated gas from Liza will be used to fuel a 250-MW thermal power plant (TPP) slated for construction near the Wales processing facility to supplement domestic electricity supplies. They have also talked about using this facility to separate natural gas liquids (NGLs) such as butane and propane for local sale and to supply feedstock to petrochemical plants.
Bharrat indicated that GUMP would take account of these plans. He noted that initial studies indicated that gas from Liza could help boost Guyana’s agricultural sector by support- ing the production of urea and ammonia com- pounds for fertiliser. Additionally, he said that gas could be used for bio-fermentation pro- cesses that produce single-cell proteins that can supplement livestock and poultry feed. Moreo- ver, he said, steam and waste heat from the TPP can be used by food-processing companies for
uses such as boiling rice and drying crops. According to previous reports, Guyana’s government wants to see a 12-inch (304.8-mm) pipeline built to link the Liza oilfield with the intake and processing facility in Wales. The link may eventually be capable of carrying up to 120-130 mcf (mcm) per day, though it will only handle about 50 mcf (1.42 mcm) per day when it comes on stream in 2024. The cost of building the pipe and the plant will reach $600-800mn,
officials in Georgetown have said.
Gas from Liza-1 and -2 will flow to shore via a 30-km pipeline (Image: ExxonMobil)
VENEZUELA
Citgo posts first profit since Q3-2019
CITGO Petroleum, the US refining business of Venezuela’s state-owned PdVSA, has reported a narrow second-quarter profit of $3mn. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amorti- sation (Ebitda) came in at $214mn for the quar- ter, while adjusted Ebitda was $208mn.
The result marks the company’s first profit in sevenquarters.(Thelasttimeitreportedaprofit was in the third quarter of 2019.) It is up from a net loss of $5mn in the second quarter of 2020.
As well as facing challenges related to last year’s downturn amid the coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic, the company has been struggling since it lost access to Venezuelan feedstock, owing to US sanctions. However, in the sec- ond quarter of this year, Citgo benefited from exports rising and the utilisation rate at its refin- ery in Lemont, Illinois hitting 97%.
The profit was also achieved despite the fact that Citgo, along with much of the US refining industry, was affected by the outage on the Colo- nial Pipeline following a cyberattack. The com- pany noted that its teams in Houston and Lake Charles had been forced to adjust operations in real time during the outage, reducing output.
“Given the multiple challenges we have faced during 2020 and the first half of 2021, this return
to profitability is particularly satisfying – espe- cially given the slow margin recovery we are experiencing due to the lingering effects of the pandemic,” said Citgo’s president and CEO, Car- los Jordá.
“The Colonial outage was of course unex- pected, but the Citgo team responded with agil- ityandprofessionalism,”headded.
Despite reduced refining margins and the Colonial disruption, Citgo reported utilisa- tion rates of 87% at its Lake Charles refinery. The company’s total refinery throughput was 732,000 barrels per day (bpd), up from 575,000 bpd a year ago, while its exports rose from 87,000 bpd to 130,000 bpd.
The result comes as Citgo continues to battle against possible seizure by creditors seeking to collect on unpaid debts incurred by PdVSA and Venezuela.
P10
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
Week 33 19•August•2021
