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The Petrocedeño upgrader can handle 200,000 bpd of crude oil (Photo: PdVSA)
The statement quoted Arnaud Breuillac, the facility that processes extra-heavy crude from
French major’s president of exploration & Faja del Orinoco by stripping away sulphur
production, as saying that TotalEnergies had compounds and other impurities in preparation
accepted a “symbolic amount” of money for the for blending with water into a synthetic blend
asset in exchange for “ample compensation in known as Zuata Sweet. The facility is capable of
relation to past and future participation” in the handling around 200,000 barrels per day (bpd)
joint venture and in recognition of the compa- of crude but has been operating below capacity
ny’s “exceptional loss” of $1.38bn on the project. for some time.
As a result of these two transactions, the CVP said in its own statement that PdVSA
NOC is set to become the only shareholder in aimed to increase processing volumes in the
the joint venture, raising its stake from 60.1% to near future and make the Petrocedeño upgrader
100%, it said. facility the “central axis” of its programme for
CVP confirmed the transfers in a separate development of Orinoco basin reserves. It did
statement last week. Asdrúbal Chávez, the pres- not elaborate, but Bloomberg reported earlier
ident of the PdVSA subsidiary, was quoted in the this year that the NOC looking into the pos-
statement as saying that his company now held sibility of repurposing the Petrocedeño and
100% of equity in Petrocedeño. Petropiar heavy crude oil upgraders to facilitate
The joint venture operates an upgrader domestic gasoline production. ™

SURINAME
TotalEnergies, Apache report

another discovery at Block 58

TOTALENERGIES (France) and Apache (US) using the Maersk Valiant drillship to finish drill-
have made their fifth discovery at Block 58 off- ing Sapakara South-1. Once the well is com-
shore Suriname. pleted, the drillship will move about 45 km to
The partners announced the find last the north to drill the Bonboni-1 exploration well
week, saying in separate statements that they at another section of Block 58.
had found crude oil in Sapakara South-1, an Later this year the Maersk Valiant will
appraisal well drilled in 850-metre-deep water return to Sapakara South-1 for flow tests. This is
at a site 4 km to the south-east of the Sapakara because “the primary objective of the first phase
West-1 discovery. The new well encountered 30 of the appraisal drilling programme is to deliver
metres of net pay in a single zone of high-quality a fast-track, black oil development,” Apache
Campano Maastrichtian reservoirs, they said. commented.
Apache and TotalEnergies have not com- The companies have already discovered oil in
mented on the likely size of the discovery. They the Maka Central-1, Sapakara West-1, Kwask-
have indicated, though, that they will continue wasi-1 and Keskesi-1 exploration wells.

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 31 05•August•2021