Page 8 - LatAmOil Week 19 2022

LatAmOil VENEZUEL A LatAmOil

Iranian feedstock seems to be in high demand at PdVSA’s El Palito refinery (Photo: PdVSA)
This deal was made just days after Iranian Oil barrels are being stored at the port of Jose and
Minister Javad Owji visited Venezuela and are expected to be discharged shortly. The very
met with President Nicolas Maduro to sign a large crude carrier (VLCC) Dino I, which car-
raft of new agreements. Iran and Venezuela, ried the 400,000-barrel shipment, is scheduled
as two countries still burdened by heavy sanc- to return to Iran with Venezuelan residual fuel
tions imposed by former US president Donald oil for Naftiran Intertrade Colater, a unit of
Trump, have taken a stand of solidarity and defi- NIOC, later this month, it noted.
ance in the face of pressure from Washington. In addition to the completed and ongoing
This development follows the signing of a shipments, Iranian feedstock supplies also seem
swap deal between the two states near the end to be in high demand at the El Palito refinery in
of last year. PdVSA began implementing that the Puerto Cabello municipality. This refinery is
agreement by importing Iranian gas conden- in the process of restarting its crude distillation
sate and using it as a blendstock for processing unit (CDU) after heavy repairs. These upgrades
its own heavy crude oil into a synthetic fuel for relied on equipment imported from Iran.
export, while then shipping Venezuelan crude As limited oil production and ongoing short-
to Iran via the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC). ages of motor oil continue to plague the South
Now, though, it is importing Iranian heavy American country, Venezuelan refineries are
crude and using it to augment locally sourced oil struggling to source light and medium grades of
slated for delivery to its refineries. The heavier crude (or even lighter refined petroleum prod-
Iranian feedstock is similar in quality to Vene- ucts) for use as blendstocks. These are in short
zuelan Mesa-30 crude, according to the com- supply, particularly in light of the fact that the
pany documents viewed by Reuters. country’s own crude reserves are mostly heavy
The news agency reported that more than and extra-heavy grades, but they are sorely
200,000 barrels of Iranian heavy crude had needed, as Venezuelan refineries use them to
arrived on Venezuelan shores in mid-April, turn heavy oil into exportable synthetic fuels.
with the shipment expected to make its way to Outside the deal, Iran continues to supply
the 310,000 bpd Cardon refinery, the country’s PdVSA with condensate, with the Venezue-
second-largest oil-processing plant. la-owned tanker Maximo Gorki scheduled to
Meanwhile, it added, an additional 400,000 discharge 2mn barrels at the Jose refinery. ™

GUYANA
CGX, Frontera announce integrated

results of oil, condensate find at Kawa-1

CANADA’S CGX Energy and its parent com- of net hydrocarbon pay in multiple zones at
pany Frontera Energy issued a statement on May various depths between 4,638 metres in the
9 confirming the discovery of light crude oil and Maastrichtian horizon and 6,568 metres in the
gas condensate in Kawa-1, an exploration well Coniacian horizon.
drilled in the northern section of the Corentyne The pay zones were split between the Maas-
block offshore Guyana. trichtian horizon, with 21 metres; the Campa-
In the statement, the companies said that the nian horizon, with 20 metres; the Santonian
integrated results from the drilling programme horizon, with 23 metres; and the Coniacian
showed that Kawa-1 had encountered 69 metres horizon, with 5 metres.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 19 12•May•2022