PdV to resume light crude imports in late 2015

OREANDA-NEWS. Venezuelas state-owned PdV will resume at least 4mn bl of light crude imports in the second half of 2015 during planned maintenance turnarounds at its extra-heavy crude upgraders and blending facility, senior PdV officials said.

The light crude, which is likely to come from Algeria or Nigeria, will be used to blend with extra-heavy crude from the vast Orinoco oil belt that is normally processed together with a naphtha diluent in the upgraders and blending plant as diluted crude oil (DCO).

The extra-heavy and light oil blend generally yields 16API Merey crude, most of which PdV exports to China and India.

Without the light crude, PdV and its foreign partners would have to shut in wells. "No refinery is designed to process DCO," says Ruben Figuera, board member of PdVs CVP division that runs the Faja joint ventures. He noted that the mix of extra-heavy crude with Algerian Saharan Blend earlier this year yielded a premium of \\$10-20/bl over DCO on the international market.

The plants are located in the Jose industrial complex on the Caribbean coast, at least 200km (122mi) north of the Junin section of the Orinoco belt, known in Spanish as the Faja.

The Sinovensa blending plant will undergo 30-35 days of maintenance in August 2015. Sinovensa is controlled by PdV with a 60pc stake. Chinas state-owned CNPC owns 40pc. The plant receives DCO from Carabobo on the eastern end of the Faja. In contrast to the upgraders, Sinovensa blends the DCO with PdVs 30API Mesa or 39API Santa Barbara crude from aging fields in eastern Venezuela. Depending on the availability of the domestic light grades, PdV may import light crude to maintain Sinovensas Faja production during the upcoming turnaround.

PdVs 100pc-owned PetroAnzoategui upgrader in Jose will enter a 60-day turnaround in October 2015. PetroAnzoategui upgrades DCO from the Junin section of the Faja to 22API.

PetroPiar and PetroMonagas are scheduled for 60-day turnarounds in June and October 2016, respectively, completing the maintenance cycle of the five facilities. In all three cases, PdV plans to import light crude for blending to sustain production.

PetroMonagas, which upgrades DCO from Carabobo to 16API, is a joint venture between PdV (83.3pc) and Russias state-controlled Rosneft (16.7pc). PetroPiar, which upgrades DCO from the Ayacucho section to 26API, is a 70:30 venture between PdV and Chevron.