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Venezuela Ready to Start Refinery Maintenance
Venezuela's oil minister, Pedro Tellechea, announced on Monday that all required components have now been secured to kickstart a maintenance program at the El Palito refinery. This work on the 146,000-barrel-per-day facility is estimated to take around three weeks.
Iran Steps in to Aid Venezuela's Refining Facilities
The national oil firm, PDVSA, has been receiving support from Iranian state companies since 2022 to overhaul its old refineries. Both Iranian and Venezuelan oil ministerial bodies took a survey of collaborative projects last week, which included the impending maintenance operations at El Palito.
About the El Palito Refinery
El Palito, situated in the central region of Venezuela, is the smallest refinery in a network with a total capacity of 1.3 million barrels per day. This network also incorporates facilities at Paraguana and Puerto La Cruz.
Future Plans and Upcoming Challenges
Upon the completion of a significant makeover at El Palito in 2023, plans were hatched between Iran and Venezuela to initiate repairs at Paraguana, the biggest refining complex with a daily capacity of 955,000 barrels. However, a conclusive contract is yet to be finalized, and Minister Tellechea remained reticent about forthcoming plans.
The announcement last month by the US of plans to reinstate oil and gas sanctions on Venezuela could stir the pot, unless Caracas lifts a ban which prevents a prominent opposition figure from standing in the upcoming presidential elections, and complies with other agreed conditions under last year's electoral pact. Tellechea emphasized that they are not on a collision course and reiterated calls for lifting all sanctions.
Venezuela’s Fuel Supply Situation
Tellechea reassured that Venezuela possesses sufficient stock of domestic fuel to prevent any shortages of gasoline or diesel during the temporary shutdown for maintenance at El Palito.
PDVSA Boosts Import
In January, PDVSA ramped up its import of gasoline and naphtha, primarily from the US. On top of this, a shipment of Russian diesel was received according to LSEG tanker tracking data. The minister also noted that up to 600 fuel trucks were expected to be imported this year to reinforce the existing fleet.
