Venezuela: PdVSA cannot distill its own crude oil
PDVSA can not do more: Out of production three out of four crude breeders
Venezuela's state oil company Pdvsa is closing three heavy oil upgraders that are still in operation so that prolonged repairs and significant congestion at their export terminals can be carried out, several Pdvsa officials told the Argus news agency today.
The four Pdsa breeders are linked to production in the Orinoco Belt, and represent more than 600,000 b / d of synthetic crude production. Most of this production is exported from the Jose Complex, in the State of Anzoategui, at market-based prices, different from the exports of diluted crude (DCO) and Merey 16 that serve as a repayment to the oil-backed loans, mainly to China.
PDVSA is also beginning to restrict the production of the Orinoco Belt because current logistical problems slow down its efforts to decongest the port terminals where up to 30 million barrels of crude exports are currently backed.
Bottlenecks include inoperative storage and cargo infrastructure that the company has not been able to repair due to low cash flow and lack of international credit.
Pdsa's Orinoco division produced around 800,000 b / d of crude in April, a decrease of more than 450,000 b / d compared to Orinoco's official production of 1.25mn b / d in 2016. The division's production figures Orinoco for May have not yet been reported.
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https://www.lapatilla.com/site/2018/06/12/pdvsa-no-puede-mas-fuera-de-produccion-tres-de-cuatro-mejoradores-de-crudo/
Translation: Venezuelas ultra heavy crude (API 16, Merey) which it has a lot of, isn't being pumped from the ground because it is thicker than road tar. To pump it out, it needs to dilute it with lighter grades or diluants it doesn't have. Once out, it can't be pumped unless it is further diluted. PdVSA has stopped paying on their loans, so nobody is lending a dime to the Chavistas. They cannot pay their workers, who have fled. They can't buy spare parts, because nobody takes Venezuelan credit nor worthless Bolivars.
Ships are being turned away, as buyers must pay cash and transfer ship-to-ship instead of at the terminals. The oil that is getting into ships is bound for China to pay back debt. Not a DIME is coming in in cash, and even India, which could get a 30% discount for paying in "Petro" (a scam cryptocurrency)
Now, they are shutting down all except one breeder that can dilute oil.
The end is near.
