Page 4 - LatAmOil Week 33 2022

LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil

(Photo: PdVSA)

PdVSA shifts its course on

European oil-for-debt swaps

Venezuela now says it wants petroleum products in exchange for oil deliveries to Eni and Repsol

IN recent years, Eni (Italy) and Repsol (Spain) barrels per day (bpd) on average. By the end of
have had the distinction of being the last two that month, Eni was reported to have already
WHAT: European majors to continue operating in Ven- taken delivery of 3.6mn barrels of oil from
Venezuela’s NOC is no ezuela despite the imposition of extensive sanc- PdVSA. It was also said to have sent most of
longer willing to supply tions on that country. As such, they naturally these volumes – 3mn barrels, or about 83.3%
oil to Europe in exchange earned the distinction of being the first two to of the total – to Repsol, whose complex refiner-
for settlement of old benefit from the US government’s recent deci- ies in Spain are capable of processing the heavy
debts. sion to authorise the resumption of oil-for-debt Venezuelan feedstock into petroleum products
swaps after a two-year hiatus. that meet EU emissions standards.
WHY: That policy change took effect in May, Repsol’s CEO Josu Jon Imaz hailed this devel-
The US recently when the State Department announced that it opment, saying in late July that it had helped his
green-lighted the swaps would not penalise Eni or Repsol for working company gain access to a much-needed new
after a hiatus of two
years. with Venezuela’s national oil company (NOC) stream of feedstock.
PdVSA to execute such swaps. In response, the “The return of cargoes from Venezuela is
WHAT NEXT: parties quickly began making arrangements good news for our refining [business], as the
PdVSA’s about-face for Venezuelan heavy crude to be delivered to quality of those crudes matches perfectly with
should be remembered Europe in exchange for the settlement of debts the high complexity of our system ... We will
in future negotiations on that PdVSA owed to joint ventures it had formed have a higher capacity to fill our cokers, prob-
sanctions. with the Italian and Spanish companies. ably optimising in a better way the conversion
All throughout July, Venezuelan crude kept units that we have,” he said at a presentation on
moving to Europe at a rate of more than 100,000 Repsol’s second-quarter results.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 33 17•August•2022