Oil tankers piling up at impaired PdV terminals

OREANDA-NEWS. March 29, 2016. Venezuelan state-owned oil company PdV's maritime terminals in and around Venezuela are experiencing more tanker congestion and longer turnaround times because of persistent breakdowns of crude and products handling infrastructure.

At least 40 tankers currently are stacked up near PdV terminals including Jose, Amuay, Punta Card?n and El Palito, and at nearby Curacao's Bullen Bay, Bonaire and Aruba, a Caracas-based shipping agent tells Argus.

The most daunting operational disruptions appear to be at the 1.5mn b/d Jose terminal in Anzo?tegui state through which over 60pc of PdV's crude exports are shipped.

Oil union officials at Jose say that the export terminal currently is operating below 40pc of capacity because of several damaged loading arms.

PdV denies the union?s assertions. All export terminals including nearby Caribbean terminals owned or leased in Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba are operating normally, the company said.

But the growing volume of light crude and products imports including naphtha used as diluent with Orinoco extra-heavy crude is prolonging tanker turnaround times at Jose and is having a cascade effect on operations at the Curacao and Bonaire terminals used as storage and blending facilities, a PdV official told Argus.

Turnaround times at Jose in Anzotegui have increased to four days, according to the oil union. Turnaround times at Amuay and Punta Card?n also have increased because of infrastructure problems that the cash-strapped company apparently cannot afford to address.

Payment issues are another contributing factor in the chronic tanker congestion at PdV oil terminals. The company's recent crude purchase tenders offered payment proposals that included cash up front, letters of credit and crude for blend swaps as alternative forms of payment, reflecting its cash flow and credit problems.