Page 8 - LatAmOil Week 11 2022

LatAmOil COLOMBIA LatAmOil

Colombia is also prepared to expand deliveries the Permian basin in Texas and is co-operating
to the US in accordance with US buyers’ require- with the US company Occidental Petroleum, he
ments, he added. This may eliminate the need to noted.
approach Venezuela, he said. Duque did not specify how much crude
In addition to asserting that Colombia had Colombia was prepared to make available for US
the ability to contribute more oil than Vene- consumption. However, he stated that his coun-
zuela, Duque also emphasised that the national try was currently producing around 890,000
oil company (NOC) Ecopetrol was a major barrels per day of oil and said that output lev-
investor in the US. els were on track to reach 1mn bpd in the near
Ecopetrol is involved in oil production in future. ™

VENEZUEL A
US continues to mull sanctions relief for

Venezuela in light of Russia-Ukraine war

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 2019, shortly after Maduro secured re-election
oil imports from Russia in response to the lat- to the presidency in an election that was widely
ter country’s invasion of Ukraine, senior US believed to be illegitimate. The sanctions regime
officials held talks with Venezuelan President was then ratcheted up several times by the
Nicolás Maduro in Caracas earlier this month. administration of Donald Trump, with the aim
This marked the first time that White House of barring PdVSA’s access to financial markets,
representatives had made an official trip to Ven- shipping contractors and other forms of support
ezuela 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 pres-
ezuela’s oil sector. This could raise the South ident after Maduro’s questionable re-election,
American state’s production by approximately was informed of these developments by US offi-
800,000 barrels per day (bpd) and might also cials following the talks with Maduro. Accord-
serve as an opportunity to reduce Russian influ- ing to a source close to the matter, Guaidó was
ence within Venezuela. PdVSA, the national oil angered by the news and argued that Venezuela
company (NOC), has formed several joint ven- did not have the capacity to produce enough
tures with Russian investors. crude oil to 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. ™

US investment has the potential to boost Venezuelan oil production quickly (Photo: PdVSA)

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 11 17•March•2022