Libyan traders bring in Western traders to counter Russian fuel flow
Three trading sources have confirmed that global oil traders and firms including Vitol Trafigura, and TotalEnergies won the tenders for supplying gasoline and diesel to Libya. The country is allowing large Western companies a broader access and reducing its imports of Russian petrol. Libya has been overhauling its oil industry for 15 years, following the fall of Muammar Gadhafi. It produces 1.4 million barrels of crude oil a day, but does not have the refinery infrastructure necessary to process it. This leaves it dependent on fuel imports.
Venezuela tensions are set to ease, resulting in a rise in the oil production potential of Guyana
Geopolitical experts and oil specialists?said that the tiny oil-producing country of Guyana has an opportunity to expand its economy amid the ongoing U.S. activities in Venezuela. This is ahead of the Guyana Energy Conference. The 'growth potential' of Guyana was the focus at the four-day conference that began on Tuesday, in Georgetown. Executives and government officials met to discuss the efforts to train the local oil workforce, increase investment and build an downstream sector. Irfaan Ali, the Guyanese president, announced on Tuesday that the country would use its oil and gas boom to drive other sectors of the economy.
US permits oil majors to resume Venezuelan operations and broadly approves new energy investment
The U.S. eased its sanctions against Venezuela's energy industry on?Friday. It issued two general licenses allowing global energy companies? to resume oil and?gas operations in the OPEC?member?and other companies?to negotiate??contracts? on investments in???new???energy operations?. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a license allowing Chevron BP Eni Shell Repsol and Repsol resume their oil and gas operations. The second license is for companies to invest in Venezuelan oil or gas.
Energy secretary warns against legitimacy of Chinese deals
Chris Wright, the U.S. secretary of energy, urged on Wednesday that the U.S. invest more in Venezuela during the most high-level visit to the U.S. focused on energy policies in almost three decades. Wright also warned about the legitimacy of Chinese companies in the OPEC nation. Wright stated that the U.S. After a meeting with the Interim President, Delcy Rodriquez, at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, the U.S. Wright stated in a televised press conference that "this year we can drive an increase in Venezuelan gas, oil, and electricity production." Venezuela produces about 1 million barrels of crude oil per day.
Russia claims US restrictions on its involvement in Venezuela's oil industry are discriminatory
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Wednesday that the new U.S. restrictions imposed on Russia and other countries' role in Venezuela's petroleum business was blatantly discriminatory. The Kremlin also said it would clarify this matter with Washington. The U.S. Treasury Department issued a license on Tuesday to facilitate exploration and production in Venezuela. The license does not authorize transactions with Russian, Chinese or Iranian entities or nationals. Lavrov said in a speech to the lower chamber of…
US Energy Secretary to Arrive in Venezuela With Herculean Task of Oil Recovery
This week, the U.S. Department of Energy Chris Wright will visit Venezuela. It is the highest-level U.S. The OPEC country has not had a visit to discuss energy policy in almost three decades. Washington is conducting its first assessment on the ground of the oil industry that it plans to rebuild. Wright will arrive in Caracas Wednesday, one day after the U.S. granted a general license to explore and produce oil and gas in Venezuela. Sources familiar with preparations say that Wright's agenda will include meetings with Delcy Rodriguez (interim president and oil minister)…
Treasury: US grants license for oil and gas exploration in Venezuela
The?U.S. The?U.S. Washington has eased sanctions against Venezuela's oil industry that were first imposed by the United States in 2019. Since U.S. troops captured President Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of January, Washington has relaxed its sanctions. The government of interim president Delcy Rodriguez then agreed on a $2 billion oil deal with Washington. Oil drillers need U.S. approval to use specialized equipment and import rigs needed to?expand Venezuela's oil production, which is currently around 1 million barrels a day (bpd).
BP does not intend to honor the National Oil Bargaining Agreement, says union
The union representing hundreds of workers in BP's Whiting Refinery, the.largest refinery.in the Midwest, announced?on.Friday that the British oil giant does not intend honoring the national oil bargaining agreements. The United Steelworkers union has adopted a national oil bargaining agreement that was negotiated with Marathon Petroleum to be used in contracts between 30,000 workers of the oil industry and their refineries or chemical plants. The Steelworkers Union represents about 800 workers in the Whiting refinery, which produces important transportation fuels such as?gasoline and diesel fuel.
TotalEnergies and Petrobras purchase land north of Namibia's massive Mopane discovery
Both TotalEnergies, the French oil giant, and Petrobras, the Brazilian firm acquired a 42.5% share in an offshore exploration license. The firms are looking to "develop" oil in one of last frontiers in exploration. Total has expanded its holdings in South Africa, where the company hopes to become the first oil producer by the end decade. Petrobras has also made a significant step in its plan to make Africa its primary exploratory region outside Brazil. Oil companies looking to replenish their reserves are flocking to Namibia.
Sources say that the US will soon issue a general license for oil extraction in Venezuela
Three sources said that the U.S. is preparing to issue a general license allowing oil and gas companies to operate in Venezuela as soon as 'this week'. Washington aims to encourage increased production in the OPEC country since capturing the president. Sources said that the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury would allow companies to explore for and pump crude oil and gas. OFAC has already granted U.S. companies permission to store, refine and sell Venezuelan oil under a general license that was issued last month. On Tuesday, OFAC also issued a license for the sale of U.S.
Trump declares that India will purchase oil from Venezuela and not Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said India will buy Venezuelan oil, helping to replace some of the Russian oil that the world's third-biggest oil importer buys. "We've already made that deal, the concept of the deal," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to his vacation home in Florida from Washington.Reuters reported on Friday that the United States has told Delhi it could soon resume purchases of Venezuelan oil to help replace imports of Russian oil, citing three people familiar with…
Kazakhstan announces that oil production at Tengiz has resumed
The energy ministry announced on Saturday that oil production at Kazakhstan's massive Tengiz Oilfield has been restored, with five wells now operating again. Since the outage, production data for the largest field in Kazakhstan has been unavailable. Kazakhstan announced on Wednesday that it would restart the Tengiz Oilfield in stages. It aims to reach full production within a week. Three unexplained electric?fires cost it 7.2 millions barrels of crude oil earlier this month. Tengiz will likely have recovered less than half of its normal production by the 7th of February as it recovers slowly from the fires.
Imperial Oil shares drop on lower profits; CEO says Venezuelan situation has little impact.
Imperial Oil, a Canadian oil company, saw its share price fall Friday due to a 'lower' fourth-quarter profit. However, the CEO of the company expressed confidence that the company would be able to withstand any changes in crude flow that might occur as a result of the current situation in Venezuela. Imperial shares fell 4.5% by midday, as the market responded to the company’s decline in earnings from the previous year. Imperial attributed this to lower oil prices globally in the third quarter and the wet weather in October that led to production issues at the Kearl oil-sands mine in northern Alberta.
Maurel & Prom seeks OFAC license as Venezuelan reserves and output of Maurel & Prom increases.
Maurel & Prom, a French oil company, announced on Thursday that its Venezuelan assets' production and reserves were up sharply in the past year. It has also applied for a?U.S. Maurel & Prom, a French oil producer, announced on Thursday that production and reserves?from its Venezuelan assets?rose sharply last year?and that it has applied for a new 'U.S. The company reported that the average daily production of working-interest oil on the Urdaneta Oeste in Venezuela will be 8,194 barrels in 2025. This is up 34% compared to 2024.
Chevron to Boost Exports of Venezuelan Oil to US in March
Oil producer Chevron is set to boost exports of Venezuelan crude to the U.S. to some 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March, from 100,000 bpd in December and some 230,000 bpd so far this month, two sources with knowledge of the plans said on Wednesday.The U.S. company, which is the main partner of Venezuela's state-run energy firm PDVSA, has chartered about a dozen tankers to increase shipments and drain inventories accumulated at its projects since December, when a U.S. blockade hit the OPEC country's exports, leaving millions of barrels stored in onshore tanks and vessels.Four Chevron-PDVSA oil joint ventures are producing between 240…
Sources say that the US will issue a general license to lift some sanctions against Venezuelan oil industry
Four sources said that the U.S. is preparing to issue a license to lift sanctions against Venezuela's energy industry. This would be a shift from the previous plan of granting individual exemptions for companies wishing to do business with Venezuela. After the capture by the U.S. of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in early this month, U.S. official have stated that Washington will ease sanctions on Venezuela's Energy Industry to facilitate a $2 Billion oil supply deal between Caracas Washington and an ambitious 100 billion dollar reconstruction plan for Venezuela's Oil industry.
Sources say that the U.S. will soon issue a general license lifting sanctions against Venezuelan oil industry.
Three sources familiar with preparations said that U.S. officials were working on a general license to be issued soon, which would lift some sanctions against Venezuela's energy industry. This is a change from the previous plan of granting individual exemptions to sanctions to companies that wanted to do business there. U.S. officials said that following the capture by the U.S. of Venezuelan president?Nicolas Maduro in the first week of this month, Washington would ease the sanctions imposed on Venezuela's Energy…
Venezuelan oil reform encourages immediate investments, but executives still need to go deeper
Foreign and local executives and attorneys said that a proposed reform to Venezuela's oil laws is sufficient to encourage existing companies to expand, and to start investing. However, deeper reforms are needed to attract the $100 Billion the U.S. estimates is necessary to overhaul the nation's energy industry. The U.S. now controls Venezuela's oil revenue and exports after a military invasion to capture President Nicolas Maduro in early this month and a naval blockade since December to stop oil shipments from sanctioned ships. Venezuela's government relies heavily on oil revenue.
Baker Hughes sees a significant revenue opportunity for Venezuela
Baker Hughes, an oilfield services company, said on Monday that there are significant revenue opportunities in Venezuela. The main considerations when operating there were safety, conditions for employees and clarity of legal and regulatory frameworks. The Houston-headquartered company has been working with authorities on Venezuela after the U.S. earlier this month removed President Nicolas Maduro from ?power and called on oil companies to rebuild the South American country's dilapidated oil industry. The company said that it has maintained a 'continuous presence in Venezuela to support licensed oil producers in their activities.
Houston, the US oil capital, is buzzing as industry prepares for Venezuelan oil rush
Matthew Goitia explains his idea in a bar downtown Houston. He wants to build and refurbish marine terminals for Venezuela that will allow crude oil to be blended and exported, and chemical products shipped. Matthew Goitia, a director at Pelorus Terminals, explains his ambitious plan to refurbish and build marine terminals that can blend and export crude and ship chemical products in Venezuela. He also plans to add storage tanks, renovate the docks, and ensure that power is available. This could all take three to ten years. It's still unclear how to obtain permission from the U.S. Government to carry out any of these activities.