U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) has seized products belonging to Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA from the Isla refinery it runs on Curacao, an island official told Reuters on May 13.
Conoco has won court orders allowing it to seize PDVSA assets on Caribbean islands, including Curacao, in efforts to collect on a $2 billion arbitral award linked to the 2007 nationalization of Conoco assets under late leader Hugo Chavez.
“PDVSA products from the installations of the Isla refinery have been confiscated. We don’t have any way to get them,” Steven Martina, Curacao’s minister for economic development said, who did not provide the amount or value of the seized products.
Conoco and PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Martina added that Curacao was planning to meet with PDVSA and Conoco this week to discuss the dispute that has led Conoco to seize Venezuelan assets in the Caribbean, wreaking havoc on PDVSA’s export chain.
The dispute has also caused worry on Curacao, a constituent country within the kingdom of the Netherlands with a vibrant tourism industry and deepwater ports used by the oil industry. The island is heavily dependent on the refinery, which provides as much as 10% of Curacao’s gross domestic product and is a big source of employment on the island just off Venezuela.
“There is no need to be alarmed, fuel and services are guaranteed,” Curacao's Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath said in a news conference on May 13. He added that lawyers are also contacting Conoco to “reach a deal and negotiate.”
PDVSA is preparing to shut a Caribbean refinery that is running out of crude amid threats by Conoco to seize cargoes sent to resupply the facility, two sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on May 11.
But Martina said the 335,000 barrel per day Isla refinery was still operating, albeit at low levels, thanks to Curacao’s reserves.
Recommended Reading
US Drillers Cut Oil, Gas Rigs for Fifth Week in Six, Baker Hughes Says
2024-09-20 - U.S. energy firms this week resumed cutting the number of oil and natural gas rigs after adding rigs last week.
Western Haynesville Wildcats’ Output Up as Comstock Loosens Chokes
2024-09-19 - Comstock Resources reported this summer that it is gaining a better understanding of the formations’ pressure regime and how best to produce its “Waynesville” wells.
August Well Permits Rebound in August, led by the Permian Basin
2024-09-18 - Analysis by Evercore ISI shows approved well permits in the Permian Basin, Marcellus and Eagle Ford shales and the Bakken were up month-over-month and compared to 2023.
Kolibri Global Drills First Three SCOOP Wells in Tishomingo Field
2024-09-18 - Kolibri Global Energy reported drilling the three wells in an average 14 days, beating its estimated 20-day drilling schedule.
Permian Resources Closes $820MM Bolt-on of Oxy’s Delaware Assets
2024-09-17 - The Permian Resources acquisition includes about 29,500 net acres, 9,900 net royalty acres and average production of 15,000 boe/d from Occidental Petroleum’s assets in Reeves County, Texas.