Due to the previous week’s blackout, Venezuelan PDVSA is unable to resume crude exports at its primary Jose port. Power varied in most of the country because of the blackout, and had President Nicolas Maduro support that it was a US-backed act of sabotage on the country’s principal hydroelectric dam.
Specifically, the President commented that this action is the outcome of more than a decade of corruption and mismanagement.
According to Reuters, PDVSA launched a contingency plan to restore power to the Jose port. The state of Anzoategui, meaning the port’s location, has had only intermittent electricity since March 8.
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Moreover, as reported by Refinitiv Eikon data, no oil and export tankers have left Jose port since March 7. Although there were a few domestic shipments in March 10 when the power returned, another outage that burst resulted to the halt of the operations.
In addition, the power outage also hand negative impacts to the Puerto la Cruz refinery, located in Anzoategui. The refinery was already operating at minimum levels.
As Reuters stated, the country’s crude upgraders, which can convert up to 700,000 barrels per day of Orinoco Belt heavy oil into exportable grades, also operated at minimum levels due to the lack of power.
Yet, blackouts are a usual phenomenon in Venezuela.
Incidents stemming from problems at the Guri hydroelectric dam have briefly disrupted oil activities at fields that depend on the grid, which are mainly located in western Zulia State, rather than the Orinoco belt. Many fields, refineries and ports generate their own power.
However, the current outage has been much more widespread and prolonged than those in the past. The status of the generators that PDVSA and its private partners use in upstream activities was unclear.
