Venezuela/Southern Oil Fields-2: Were Shut Down On Strike -2
sg.biz.yahoo.com Saturday January 11, 3:53 AM Venezuela/Southern Oil Fields-2: Were Shut Down On Strike
CARACAS -(Dow Jones)- Oil fields south of Venezuela's eastern Puerto La Cruz refinery are pumping about 144,000 barrels per day of crude, from 25 wells that were reopened after they were shut last month due to a general strike, a person close to the operations said Friday.
Next week, state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (E.PVZ), or PdVSA, hopes to bring the number of pumping wells up to 100, the person told Dow Jones Newswires on the condition of anonymity.
The rate is still very low, considering Puerto La Cruz could ship around 2 million barrels per day before the strike cut output, the person said.
Loading at the facility's terminals is also still slow, the person said.
Friday, the tanker Nereo was loaded with a total 350,000 barrels, composed of roughly equal amounts of three grades of crude, and was headed for PdVSA affiliate Citgo's Lake Charles refinery in the U.S., after its original destination - the Corpus Christi refinery - was changed, the person said.
Another tanker, the Victory III, was to be loaded with fuel oil destined for Bonaire, the person said.
The Astro Canopus, another tankers, was also getting ready to load bunker fuel but didn't currently have a destination and would anchor off the terminal, he said.
(MORE) Dow Jones Newswires
01-10-03 1435ET
Venezuela/Southern Oil Fields-2: Were Shut Down On Strike -2
While the government is trying to break the strike and bring oil production back to the roughly 3 million barrels per day in November before the action began, international shippers' refusals to load at the troubled country's ports is restricting exports to about 9 million barrels per month, an industry executive said.
That's because the government currently has to rely mostly on its own eight tankers, each of which can only ship a bit more than 1 million barrels per month, said Ciro Izarra, who was the international crude trading manager at PDVSA before an ongoing 40-day-old strike began.
PdVSA officials couldn't be reached for comment but the estimate concurs with Oil Ministry reports of how much oil has left Venezuela's shores since the strike began.
About 45 tankers with some 16.36 million barrels of crude and products left Venezuelan ports between Dec. 5 and Jan. 8, the government's Venpres news agency reported.
International shippers have refused to load at Venezuela's terminals citing insurance restrictions because the government's replacements for harbor pilots and tug boat captains don't have the licenses to satisfy requirements.
Government officials have said they expect oil output to be around 2 million b/d by the end of January but industry insiders have rejected the claims as unrealistic.
Output is currently at around 400,000 b/d, according to observers who contradict government claims it's anywhere from about 600,000 b/d to 1.1 million b/d.
Opposition leaders are demanding President Hugo Chavez agree to call elections in 30 days if he loses a Feb. 2 nonbinding vote on whether he should remain president.
Chavez has thus far maintained the constitution only requires him to accept the results of a possible recall referendum next August, the midpoint of his term.
Chavez's critics blame his left-leaning policies for the country's deepening economic crisis, as the economy likely contracted about 8% last year amid unemployment of 17% and inflation of 31% sparked by the bolivar's ($1=VEB1513.25) 46% devaluation.
Chavez has said the country's problems are due to an "economic coup" led by his opponents.
PdVSA Website: www.pdv.com
-By Jehan Senaratna;Dow Jones Newswires; 58212 564 1339; jehan.senaratna@dowjones.com