PdV leans towards light touch regime

摘要

Venezuela plans to import more light crude this year to cover upgrader maintenance that coincides with a proposed strategy shift at its Orinoco projects. Venezuela is looking to produce up to 500,000 b/d of crude at seven projects in the Orinoco extra-heavy oil belt by blending output with imported light crude, instead of immediately building costly upgraders. PdV’s Orinoco plans have made slow progress because of its limited access to financing and its partners’ reluctance to invest. Blending light crude with its extra-heavy output - a model spearheaded at the 160,000 b/d Sinovensa venture - would be cheaper than building the upgraders straight away and is finding favour within PdV as a better-value option in the short term.