Oil prices are on the rise. One driver is the OPEC limits agreed in 2016 to kick in at the start of 2017. The OPEC basket of 14 crudes is trading at $60.49 (22/11/2017). Note that the OPEC basket excludes US and UK crudes (WTI and Brent) and includes Middle Eastern, North African, Southern African and South American crudes (example: Merey, Venezuela). Angolan Girassol (extracted by BP, ExxonMobil and other partners) is part of the basket. The OPEC basket is also known as the ORB (OPEC reference basket).
Showing posts with label venezuela. Show all posts
Showing posts with label venezuela. Show all posts
Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Monday, 11 January 2010
Deja Vu as Chavez Devalues "Bolivar Fuente"
Why were Venezuelans on a shopping spree last weekend? On Friday, the government announced the introduction of a multi-tiered exchange rate. How does it work you may well ask? There will be three rates. The official value of the dollar will be fixed at 2.6 bolivars. This rate will be reserved for essential imports such as medicine and food. Essential goods will be traded at the "oil dollar" pegged at 4.3 bolivars. The third floating rate will be managed by central bank intervention. This rate has previously been known as the parallel rate and currently values the USD at just over 6 bolivars.
Opposers point out this tiered system will make goods more expensive for average citizens while the government's oil export earnings double. Venezuela's currency is the "bolivar fuerte" (Pl. "bolivares fuertes") which has been the new currency since January 2008 (when the ISO code changed from VEB to VEF). The new exchange rate system is effectively a devaluation.
Opposers point out this tiered system will make goods more expensive for average citizens while the government's oil export earnings double. Venezuela's currency is the "bolivar fuerte" (Pl. "bolivares fuertes") which has been the new currency since January 2008 (when the ISO code changed from VEB to VEF). The new exchange rate system is effectively a devaluation.
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Creation of a Gas "OPEC" In Doha Sparks Controversy, Tangan nods towards Sinopec and Gazprom on the Warpath
Russia, the world's top gas exporter (and largest country in the world in terms of land area; over 17 million sq km, almost twice the size of the United States at 9.8 sq km), hosts the GECF forum for gas-producing countries (including Iran, Venezuela (a country borne from the collapse of Gran Colombia, the short-lived South American republic named after Christopher Columbus, in 1830) and Qatar), and proposes the creation of a permanent organization in Doha, Qatar, similar to OPEC. In the forum, Vladimir Putin announced "the era of cheap gas is coming to an end".
Russian state-owned Gazprom claims it is owed $2bn (£1.3bn) by Ukraine for gas supplies. This creates supply risk for the rest of Europe since 80% of Russia's exports go via Ukrainian pipelines to the rest of Europe. Gazprom is also nearing a deal to win a controlling stake in Serbia's state-owned oil monopoly Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) and exploiting Siberian reserves in the Yamal Peninsula (the so-called "Yamal Megaproject"). Siberia has a population density of 3 people per square kilometre.
Venezuela is unique in that it has the world's largest reserves of heavy crude oil (which has a higher specific gravity (read density) than "conventional" crude) located in the Orinoco river ("Rio Orinoco"). Heavy crude is often priced at a discount to light crudes, due to high refining costs in the downstream processing. The field of reservoir engineering deals with the economic retrieval of hydrocarbons.
Reuters report here.
In other oil and gas events, the bid of Sinopec (China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation) for the Canadian Tanganyika Oil Company has been given a thumbs-up from Tangan's Board of Directors.
Russian state-owned Gazprom claims it is owed $2bn (£1.3bn) by Ukraine for gas supplies. This creates supply risk for the rest of Europe since 80% of Russia's exports go via Ukrainian pipelines to the rest of Europe. Gazprom is also nearing a deal to win a controlling stake in Serbia's state-owned oil monopoly Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) and exploiting Siberian reserves in the Yamal Peninsula (the so-called "Yamal Megaproject"). Siberia has a population density of 3 people per square kilometre.
Venezuela is unique in that it has the world's largest reserves of heavy crude oil (which has a higher specific gravity (read density) than "conventional" crude) located in the Orinoco river ("Rio Orinoco"). Heavy crude is often priced at a discount to light crudes, due to high refining costs in the downstream processing. The field of reservoir engineering deals with the economic retrieval of hydrocarbons.
Reuters report here.
In other oil and gas events, the bid of Sinopec (China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation) for the Canadian Tanganyika Oil Company has been given a thumbs-up from Tangan's Board of Directors.
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