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MEOG PIPELINES & TRANSPORT MEOG
PdVSA diverts Iranian crude because of quality issues
IRAN
VENEZUELA’S national oil company (NOC) PdVSA has reportedly not been able to process crude received from Iran at its 140,000 barrel per day (bpd) El Palito refinery as planned because of quality issues.
Several sources told Argus Media last week that PdVSA had been forced to redirect Iranian oil received in line with a bilateral deal that Teh- ran and Caracas signed in March of this year to the Centro de Refinacion Paraguana (CRP), a 430,000-bpd complex in the western part of the country. The NOC had to take this step because the Iranian feedstock was causing problems at El Palito, they said.
One of Argus Media’s sources was Ivan Fre- ites, an exiled leader of the labour union rep- resenting PdVSA workers. He stated that the Iranian oil had been so acidic that operational difficulties had arisen at the refinery’s distilla- tion tower. In light of these problems, the NOC decided to send the crude to CRP for processing, he stated.
Another source echoed Freites’ statements about the acidity of the crude, saying that the pH level of the Iranian feedstock had proven prob- lematic in light of the condition of equipment at El Palito. The refinery has not been well main- tained, and corrosion has been allowed to spread
unchecked, he explained.
Meanwhile, a third source told Argus Media
that PdVSA had experienced problems for many days after introducing Iranian oil into its systems.
Iran has been supplying Venezuela with crude oil that has a specific gravity of around 28 degrees API. This is classified as a medium grade of crude, and it is lighter than Merey, one of Ven- ezuela’s main export grades, which has a specific gravity of about 16.2 degrees API.
The Venezuelan and Iranian governments have signed a number of deals since late last year on co-operation in the oil sector. Under those agreements, National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) is providing PdVSA with a variety of needed goods and services – including gas condensate and crude that can be used as blendstock for Vene- zuela’s extra-heavy oil, as well as refined petro- leum products, refinery parts and assistance in repair and maintenance work – in exchange for oil supplies. One such accord signed in early May provides for the Iranian side to assist PdVSA with repair operations at El Palito.
Both Caracas and Tehran have said they have an incentive to co-operate in the oil sec- tor because of the sanctions imposed by the US government.™
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