Page 9 - LatAmOil Week 38 2021

LatAmOil VENEZUEL A LatAmOil

MP: Venezuela will not reform

key petroleum law this year

VENEZUELA’S National Assembly is not plan- In the past, the US has been the largest mar-
ning to make any changes to the national oil and ket for Venezuelan crude. However, interest in
gas law this year, despite the slump in the coun- PdVSA’s oil has dwindled since early 2019, when
try’s crude output. the administration of former US president Don-
According to Angel Rodriguez, the head of ald Trump imposed sweeping sanctions on the
the assembly’s Energy and Mines committee, company. It did so in a bid to curtail the coun-
the law will not be subject to reform in 2021. try’s oil exports and put pressure on Maduro to
Rodriguez told Reuters last week that the com- step down.
mittee, which is controlled by allies of Venezue- Thus far the president has remained in
la’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro, needed power. However, Venezuelan oil exports have
more time to assess potential changes. mostly dried up, even though some cargoes are
“The hydrocarbons law is still on the agenda, still being delivered to buyers in China and other
but we are receiving the proposals,” he said after Asian countries. In turn, the plunge in exports
a committee meeting. has forced PdVSA to shut wells and skimp on
“I don’t think there will be a reform this year,” maintenance and repair work for its production,
he added. transportation and refining infrastructure. ™
Earlier this year, Maduro said that the
Assembly was considering proposals for chang-
ing the legal regime to allow for the emergence
of “new business models.” He explained this
stance by saying that reforms might compensate
for mismanagement of and underinvestment in
the country’s hydrocarbon resources, as well as
the sanctions imposed by the US government on
the national oil company (NOC) PdVSA.
The country’s opposition has called on the
government to give a greater role to the private
sector in the industry, which has long been dom-
inated by PdVSA. Current Venezuelan law gives
PdVSA a monopoly on the export of crude oil,
which is the country’s largest source of revenue. MPs reportedly need more time to consider changes to the law (File Photo)

GUYANA
Tullow Oil looking to trim its

portfolio in Guyana, CEO says

TULLOW Oil (UK/Ireland) is looking to reduce is currently serving as operator of the Orin-
its exposure in Guyana by bringing new part- duik licence area and holds a minority stake in
ners into its projects in that country’s offshore Kanuku.)
zone. “Tullow is just taking a step back,” he
Rahul Dhir, the CEO of the company, told remarked. “The overall strategy is to allocate
Reuters last week that Tullow wanted to scale more capital to our core production assets,
down its activities at the Orinduik and Kanuku so what we are looking to do in Guyana, for
offshore blocks so that it could focus more instance, is to bring in partners and reduce our
intensely on its primary assets. capital exposures.”
He also stressed, though, that Tullow did Dhir did not say whether the company had
not intend to exit these projects. (The company identified any potential new partners.

Week 38 23•September•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9