Page 9 - LatAmOil Week 05 2023

LatAmOil COLOMBIA LatAmOil

It further stated that the EoI was designed to is based on the Hoegh Grace, a floating storage
assess the feasibility of averting potential gas and regasification unit (FSRU) anchored near
shortages in Colombia in 2027-2028 by expand- the port of Cartagena – on behalf of Promigas, a
ing the terminal’s capacity in two phases – to 450 Colombian natural gas transportation company,
mmcf (12.74 mcm) per day by the end of 2023 and its partner Vopak, a Dutch operator of tank
and then to 530 mmcf (15.01 mcm) per day by storage facilities.
the second half of 2026. The Hoegh Grace receives LNG, regasifies
This initiative “aims to assess the market par- it and then transfers the gas to a 9.2-km pipe-
ticipants´ demand for the potential additional line for delivery to shore for further transport
capacity and advance to a final investment deci- to local thermal power plants (TPPs). These
sion [FID] involving the foreseen expansion TPPs have an installed capacity of 2,000 MW,
plans,” the statement said. It did not reveal when equivalent to 60% of Colombia’s total gas-fired
SPEC LNG hoped to reach the FID stage, but electricity generating capacity.
it did assert that expansion would “strengthen The terminal has been in operation since
and ensure the medium- and long-term supply December 2016, with the Hoegh Grace serving
of natural gas in Colombia, [which is] key for under a charter contract the entire time. To date,
assuring a path to the energy transition.” SPEC LNG has taken delivery of 35 LNG car-
SPEC LNG manages the terminal – which goes via ship-to-ship (STS) transfers. ™

VENEZUELA
Chevron CEO says Venezuelan joint

ventures are now yielding 90,000 bpd

MIKE Wirth, the CEO of Chevron (US), said
on January 27 that his company’s joint ventures
in Venezuela were currently producing about
90,000 barrels per day (bpd).
During an earnings call, Wirth noted that
Chevron’s Venezuelan output had climbed by
around 40,000 bpd since late last November,
when the US government granted the company
a partial waiver from sanctions penalties. This
represents an uptick of approximately 80% on
the output rates reported previously.
According to previous reports, the six-month
waiver issued by the Office of Foreign Asset
Control (OFAC), a division of the US Treas-
ury Department, allows Chevron to take an
expanded role in four Venezuelan JVs involved The US major’s Venezuelan output has risen since last November (Image: Chevron)
in the production, refining and export of petro-
leum products, as well as the right to import oil Argus Media. “We are continuing to work on the
and fuel produced by these companies to the US. ground to expand production, but it’s too early
The US major has already used the waiver to guide to anything.”
to arrange for some of the crude oil it has been He also said that Chevron expected to start
storing in Venezuela for several years to be delivering some of the Venezuelan crude it was
transferred to tankers for delivery to the Pasca- importing to other USGC refineries beyond the
goula refinery, one of its oil-processing plants in Pascagoula plant. “We’re going to be delivering
the US Gulf Coast (USGC) region. But it also cargoes to other customers on the Gulf Coast,”
appears to be taking steps towards expanding he stated.
its upstream operations in the hope of boosting Representatives of the US major based in
production levels, even beyond the six-month Caracas had told Argus Media last year that they
term of its sanctions exemption, known as Gen- hoped to see Chevron’s joint ventures in Vene-
eral Law 41 (GL 41). zuela increase yields to as much as 200,000 bpd
Wirth acknowledged these efforts during in 2023. This target may not be easy to achieve,
the earnings call but did not reveal many details they noted, because the country’s oil infrastruc-
on his company’s activities. “That’s been a good ture is in bad shape following years of sanctions
short-term effect,” he was quoted as saying by and inadequate maintenance and repairs. ™

Week 05 01•February•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P9