Heavy Crude Mix at PDV Adds to Firm's Financial Woes

摘要

Venezuela's oil output is growing steadily heavier, as output of light crude from conventional oil-producing zones in the Lake Maracaibo region declines and the country relies ever more on Orinoco Belt extra-heavy crude projects. That production shift is exacerbating the already-dire financial crisis at state Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV), as Orinoco crude trades at a substantial discount to light oil. Also, with domestic light crude output falling, PDV must increasingly import diluent that it can blend with the thick Orinoco crude for transport.