Page 14 - LatAmOil Week 03 2021

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Keskesi-1 is the fourth discovery made at Block Bonboni section of the block.
58. Total and Apache also found oil in the first Equity in Block 58 is split 50:50 between
three wells drilled within their licence area: Apache and Total. The latter company bought
Maka Central-1, Sapakara West-1 and Kwask- into the project last year with the intent of
wasi-1. The partners’ next target will be the assuming the operatorship. ™

VENEZUEL A
PdVSA seeks help from private companies

VENEZUELA’S government has reportedly for their efforts.
offered to let small, privately owned companies The Maduro administration is hoping that
operate fields assigned to state-owned PdVSA in the current initiative, which is in line with legis-
a bid to prop up sagging production levels. lation adopted last year, is more successful. The
Multiple sources familiar with the matter new law allows Venezuelan companies to con-
told Reuters last week that President Nicolas clude oil agreements confidentially, so as not to
Maduro’s administration had begun talks with incur penalties under the US sanctions regime,
a number of potential partners. They stated Reuters explained.
that several private service companies founded Meanwhile, the president has pledged to
with Venezuelan capital were participating in introduce additional reforms in order to facili-
the negotiations, including S&B Terra Marine tate private-sector involvement in the domestic
Services, based in the western state of Zulia, oil industry. In a Twitter post-dated January 1,
and Arco Services, based in the eastern state of Maduro said that his government was “doing a
Monagas. Additionally, they said that the discus- lot of things in silence, which we will announce
sions only covered fields under PdVSA’s control later.”
and not any joint venture projects. He also said last week during an address to
As of press time, it was not clear whether the National Assembly that he expected the new
any of the Venezuelan companies involved had operating agreements to boost the country’s oil
concluded operating contracts with PdVSA. output level to 1.5mn barrels per day. This would
Last week, though, Venezuelan Vice-President mark a rise of more than 200% on the November
Delcy Rodriguez claimed during an inter- 2020 figure of 434,000 bpd. ™
view with the state television channel that the
national oil company (NOC) had signed “sev-
eral agreements.”
According to Reuters’ sources, the national
oil company (NOC) is offering more attractive
terms than it did in 2018, when the govern-
ment’s first effort to secure assistance for the
oil sector from private local companies yielded
disappointing results. For example, said one
source, Caracas is not making payments to con-
tractors conditional upon the success of efforts
to increase oil output, as it did previously. Three
other sources noted, meanwhile, that the new
measure allowed for contractors to sell crude oil
or refined petroleum products as compensation Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (Photo: Twitter)

BRAZIL
Petrobras comments on refinery sales

BRAZIL’S national oil company (NOC) Petro- In a statement dated January 2018, Petro-
bras said earlier this week it had not yet approved bras noted that CADE had already approved
to amendments to its agreements with the the amendments, which extend the deadline for
Administrative Council for Economic Defence the sale of eight oil refineries by four months to
(CADE) on the sale of eight oil refineries. April 30, 2021.

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 03 21•January•2021