Page 6 - MEOG Week 06 2022

MEOG PIPELINES & TRANSPORT MEOG

PdVSA reportedly receives

more Iranian condensate

IRAN VENEZUELA’S state oil firm PdVSA has report- hand, it helps Iran trade some of the condensate
edly taken delivery of another shipment of Ira- it has been storing in NITC’s tanker fleet for
nian gas condensate. crude. And on the other hand, it helps PdVSA
Citing data from the Vortexa analytics firm, secure the diluent it needs to transform its extra-
Argus Media reported last week that Starla, heavy oil into a lighter synthetic fuel that is easier
a very large crude carrier (VLCC) owned by to handle and process, while also reducing the
National Iranian Tanker Co. (NITC) had docked amount of crude building up in storage because
in the Venezuelan port of Jose on January 28-29 of US sanctions.
and unloaded approximately 2mn barrels of gas Since PdVSA started receiving Iranian con-
condensate there. This was the first cargo of Ira- densate last autumn, it has succeeded in boosting
nian condensate to arrive in Venezuela since the output rates considerably.
start of 2022. According to previous reports, Venezuela
PdVSA began receiving Iranian condensate, extracted 525,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil in
which it uses as a blendstock for extra-heavy the first nine months of 2021 but saw output rise
crude oil from the Orinoco River belt, under a to 824,000 bpd on average in November. Before
swap agreement with NITC’s parent company, the end of last year, it even managed to bring
National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), last autumn. It daily output up to the 1mn bpd level for the first
took delivery of at least three cargoes, each con- time in nearly three years.
taining 1.85-2.00mn barrels, between September The rise in crude production has reportedly
and November of 2021. helped the NOC boost domestic petroleum
The swap deal benefits both sides. On the one product sales, as well as exports to Asia.™

PRICES & PERFORMANCE

Owji: removing sanctions will cut oil prices

IRAN IRAN’S Oil Minister Javad Owji has said that he said, adding that all member countries will
Iran can help reduce oil prices by supplying the continue their collective efforts to protect the
market if sanctions were immediately removed, achievements of their agreement.
SHANA reported him as saying on February 3. Owji said that the latest data and reports show
With a barrel of brent crude heading to $100 that the global oil market is moving towards
a barrel and global supply significantly strained, balance and stability, despite concerns about
Tehran’s ask is that the global markets could be outbreaks of the Omicron variant, thanks to
lessened if US sanctions were removed from the improved economic performance in the world,
country’s economy. especially in the leading oil consuming coun-
“If global oil consumers are dissatisfied with tries, as well as compliance by OPEC+ member
current oil prices and supply levels, I propose to states, which reached 122% output in November.
quickly lift the unilateral and harsh US sanctions “Basically, the purpose of OPEC is not to
against Iran,” he said. Owji made the remark set prices in the oil market. World oil prices are
after the 25th OPEC-Non-OPEC ministerial determined by a set of supply and demand indi-
meeting, held via videoconference on February cators, and all OPEC+ members strive for a fair
2. He added that OPEC+ today agreed to con- price for producers, consumers and the global
tinue increasing crude oil production by 400,000 economy. OPEC+ producers are satisfied with
b/d in March 2022. the relative stability in the market and will con-
According to the Iranian oil minister, taking tinue their efforts and commitment to maintain
into account JMMC reports, as well as an anal- and strengthen it.”
ysis of the outlook for the global economy and “However, if global consumers, especially
factors determining global oil demand in 2022, large economies, are disappointed with cur-
all OPEC+ member countries reached a consen- rent oil prices and supply levels and see this as
sus to increase crude oil production by 400,000 contrary to their interests, I suggest they lift the
barrels per day in March. OPEC+ also empha- unilateral and brutal US sanctions against Iran
sised continuous and regular monitoring of as soon as possible and pave the way for Iran
market developments and taking the necessary to return to world oil market with maximum
measures to maintain stability in the oil market, capacity,” he noted.™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 06 09•February•2022