Page 13 - LatAmOil Week 21 2020

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Guyana exports second oil cargo
GUYANA has successfully exported its second cargo of crude oil from Liza, an oilfield within the offshore Stabroek block.
According to press reports, the cargo con- sisted of the government’s share of production from Liza. It contained 1mn barrels of oil with a specific gravity of 32.1 degrees API.
ExxonMobil (US), the operator of the Liza field, began the process of testing and transfer- ring the barrels from the Liza Destiny floating production, storage and off-loading (FPSO) ves- sel to the Sonangol Namibe tanker on May 20. It took at least two days to complete the loading process, and the tanker departed from the field on May 22.
The Sonangol Namibia, which is registered in the Bahamas, was slated to deliver the crude to Aruba, according to ship-tracking data. As of press time, it was not known whether the cargo had arrived yet.
Shell Western Supply & Trading, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell (UK/Netherlands), is act- ing as Guyana’s agent for sale of the cargo. The company is performing this service within the framework of a contract it won last December for the sale of three cargoes of 1mn barrels each. It loaded the first of these cargoes in February 2020 and is due to begin loading the third in July.
The first cargo fetched a price of around $55mn and generated nearly $5mn worth of royalties for Guyana’s government. Mark Bynoe, the head of the South American country’s Department of Energy (DoE), has said he does not expect the second cargo to be as lucrative, since world crude oil prices have fallen signifi- cantly since February.
Guyanese officials had said last December that they hoped the country would be able to earn $300mn from crude oil sales in 2020. They made significant cuts to their revenue pro- jections after crude markets began sinking in March, however.
In related news, Guyana’s elections commis- sion has reported that it is making progress on a recount of the ballots cast in the most recent round of parliamentary voting on March 2. The recount began on May 6 and was 48% complete as of May 24, the commission said earlier this week.
Guyana’s incumbent government, led by the right-leaning APNU-Alliance for Change party, has declared itself the winner of the March 2 par- liamentary elections. The results of the vote have been challenged by the main opposition party, the left-leaning People’s Progressive Party/Civic. Both factions are eager to reap the benefits of Guyana’s newfound status as an oil producer.™
Guyana’s first oil cargo loaded in February (Photo: Ministry of the Presidency)
VENEZUELA
PdVSA aims to resume deliveries of petroleum coke to Cuba
VENEZUELA’S national oil company (NOC) PdVSA reportedly hopes to resume shipments of petroleum coke to Cuba in the near future.
Sources inside PdVSA and the Venezuelan government told Argus Media last week that the company had brought a delayed coking unit back online at the 305,000 barrel per day (bpd) Cardon refinery for this purpose. As of May 20, the 70,000 bpd coker was working at less than full capacity, they said.
Once the unit stabilises its operations, the
sources added, PdVSA will resume deliveries of petroleum coke to CUPET, Cuba’s NOC. CUPET will then be able to re-export the coke to clients in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Turkey, in line with supply agreements that PdVSA signed before its shipments were disrupted by the US sanctions regime, they said. Venezuela will not receive payment for these exports, which will serve as compensation in kind for health and security services that Havana provides to Cara- cas, according to one of Argus Media’s sources.
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