Jan 22 (Reuters) - Oil major Shell is considering a sale of its assets in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale play and has approached potential buyers in recent weeks to gauge their interest, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Shell is open to selling some or all of its interests in the highly sought shale... Continue Reading →
Strike, Privatization Push Raise Fresh Risks for Peru’s Oil Sector
Jan. 20 (oilprice.com) A three-day strike at Peru’s state oil company began Monday as workers protested government plans to open the company to private investment, a move that comes as Petroperu also weighs bringing in outside management for its debt-laden Talara refinery. Workers at state-owned Petroperu launched the strike in opposition to what unions describe... Continue Reading →
Maha Capital seeks US approval to buy stake in Venezuelan oil firm
Jan 19 (Reuters) - Swedish investment platform Maha Capital is seeking approval from the United States to acquire an indirect minority stake in a PDVSA-controlled oil firm, Maha's chairman of the board, Paulo Thiago Mendonca, told Reuters on Friday. The firm has until May to exercise an option for a majority stake in a Novonor subsidiary... Continue Reading →
International oil companies push for quick reforms in Venezuela to give them control over oil exports
Jan 16 (Reuters) - Oil executives and lawyers for international oil companies are lobbying the U.S. and Venezuelan governments for changes in the OPEC member's hydrocarbon law that would give them the right to freely export the oil they produce in Venezuela, sources involved in the talks said. As the administration of U.S. President Donald... Continue Reading →
Exclusive: Repsol, ENI, Maurel & Prom applying for US licenses to export Venezuelan oil, sources say
Jan 15 (Reuters) - Several European partners of Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA, including Spain's Repsol, Italy's ENI and France's Maurel & Prom, have applied for U.S. licenses or authorizations to export oil from the OPEC country, six industry sources told Reuters. The requested terms are similar to those granted by Washington in past years,... Continue Reading →
Exxon studies Venezuela return as Chevron plots immediate production bump
Jan 9 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said on Friday the U.S. oil major is ready to evaluate a potential return to Venezuela in what would be a stunning development after its assets in the South American country were nationalized nearly 20 years ago. Woods, however, said Venezuela was currently "uninvestable" and significant legal... Continue Reading →
Chevron, Vitol and Trafigura in Talks to Export Venezuelan Crude
Jan. 9 (Reuters) Oil major Chevron Corp, global trading houses Vitol and Trafigura, and other firms are competing for U.S. government deals to export crude oil from Venezuela, according to sources familiar with the matter. The competition reflects a desire by many in the oil industry to access the South American country's crude stocks and... Continue Reading →
Venezuela to export $2 billion worth of oil to US in deal with Washington
Jan 6 (Reuters) - Caracas and Washington have reached a deal to export up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, a flagship negotiation that would divert supplies from China while helping Venezuela avoid deeper oil production cuts. The agreement is a strong sign that the Venezuelan government... Continue Reading →
Norway’s Equinor does not plan return to Venezuela, CEO says
Jan 7 (Reuters) - Equinor does not plan a return to Venezuela, after leaving the country in the early part of this decade, the Norwegian oil and gas company's CEO told Reuters on Wednesday. "At the moment, that's not on the table," Anders Opedal said on the sidelines of a business conference. "We pulled out of... Continue Reading →
High Costs, High Risk Cloud Trump’s Venezuela Oil Pitch
Jan. 6 (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump is giving U.S. energy companies the opportunity to revive Venezuela’s massive, derelict oil industry. It’s an offer they may want to refuse. After the U.S. military’s ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at the weekend, representatives of the Trump administration plan to meet with oil executives later this... Continue Reading →