Page 9 - NorthAmOil Week 11 2022

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Duque says Colombia can supply oil to US

COLOMBIA-US COLOMBIAN President Iván Duque met has more capacity to supply hydrocarbons than
with US President Joe Biden in Washington Venezuela has,” he stated in a press conference
last week to discuss energy security amid following his meeting with Biden.
the ongoing Russian military incursion in Colombia is also prepared to expand deliv-
Ukraine. eries to the US in accordance with US buyers’
During the meeting, Duque said that his requirements, he added. This may eliminate the
country would make its crude oil available to the need to approach Venezuela, he said.
US market as required in order to help stabilise In addition to asserting that Colombia had
global energy prices. “Colombia can contribute, the ability to contribute more oil than Venezuela,
and we want to contribute to the stability [of] Duque also emphasised that the national oil
world prices of energy, especially in the circum- company (NOC) Ecopetrol was a major investor
stances we are living,” he declared. in the US. Ecopetrol is involved in oil production
The meeting between the two leaders took in the Permian basin in Texas and is co-operating
place after a team of US officials travelled to Ven- with the US company Occidental Petroleum, he
ezuela for talks with President Nicolás Maduro noted.
to explore the possibility of lifting US restrictions Duque did not specify how much crude
on the sale of that country’s oil. Colombia was prepared to make available for US
Duque, for his part, sought to distinguish consumption. However, he stated that his coun-
Colombia from Venezuela, saying that it was in a try was currently producing around 890,000 bar-
better position to deliver more oil to the market rels per day of oil and said that output levels were
immediately. “Colombia today is a country that on track to reach 1mn bpd in the near future.™

US continues to explore sanctions

relief for Venezuela

US-VENEZUELA IN an effort to secure new supply sources and Venezuela, saying that the restoration of democ-
mitigate the rapid rise in oil prices, the adminis- racy ought to be a prerequisite for co-operation
tration of US President Joe Biden has continued with the Maduro regime.
to explore the possibility of easing sanctions on The US government first imposed sanctions
Venezuela. specifically targeting Venezuela’s oil industry in
Following Washington’s decision to ban oil 2019, shortly after Maduro secured re-election
imports from Russia in response to the latter to the presidency in an election that was widely
country’s invasion of Ukraine, senior US officials believed to be illegitimate. The sanctions regime
held talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás was then ratcheted up several times by the
Maduro in Caracas earlier this month. This administration of Donald Trump, with the aim
marked the first time that White House repre- of barring PdVSA’s access to financial markets,
sentatives had made an official trip to Venezuela shipping contractors and other forms of support
since 1999. as well as global oil trade.
Should the sanctions be lifted, US-based Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó,
companies would be allowed to invest in Ven- who was recognised as Venezuela’s interim presi-
ezuela’s oil sector. This could raise the South dent after Maduro’s questionable re-election, was
American state’s production by approximately informed of these developments by US officials
800,000 barrels per day (bpd) and might also following the talks with Maduro. According to a
serve as an opportunity to reduce Russian influ- source close to the matter, Guaidó was angered
ence within Venezuela. PdVSA, the national oil by the news and argued that Venezuela did not
company (NOC), has formed several joint ven- have the capacity to produce enough crude oil to
tures with Russian investors. bring world oil prices down.
The Biden administration’s decision to con- The opposition leader also wrote in a letter
sider the easing of oil sanctions against Ven- to Biden that any decision to lift oil sanctions
ezuela has been met with criticism inside the would effectively be rewarding a dictator whose
US. Both Republicans and Democrats have actions had led millions of Venezuelans to leave
expressed reservations about allying with the country.™

Week 11 17•March•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9