Everything about Pdvsa totally explained
Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (
PDVSA) is the
Venezuelan
state-owned petroleum company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil, as well as exploration and production of natural gas. PDVSA dominates the oil industry of Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil
exporter.
PDVSA purchased 50% of the
United States gasoline brand
Citgo from
Southland Corporation in 1986 and the remainder in 1990.
Venezuela has of conventional
oil reserves according to PDVSA figures, the largest in the
Western Hemisphere and making up approximately half the total. This puts Venezuela as fifth in the world in proven reserves of conventional oil. By also including an estimated of tar-like extra heavy crude oil in the
Orinoco Belt region, Venezuela claims to hold the largest
hydrocarbon reserves in the world. Venezuela also has 150
trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.
PDVSA has a production capacity, including the strategic associations and operating agreements, of 4 million
barrels per day (600,000 m³). Officials say production is around although most secondary sources such as
OPEC and the
EIA put Venezuela's output at least lower.
PDVSA has performed many significant contributions to the protection of the environment through strategic associations with environmental remediation technology providors such as Separation and Recovery Systems Recupertec (SRS) among other companies in the sector to perform the critical cleanup of refining oil wastes and production oil wastes. PDVSA and
SRS have been one of the most important collaborators of environmental protection in Venezuela.
In December 2002 many of PDVSA's managers and employees (including the
CTV trade union federation) locked out workers to pressure Venezuelan president
Hugo Chávez to call early elections, and virtually stopped oil production for 2 months. The government fired 19,000 employees and reestablished production with employees loyal to the Chávez government. The
International Labour Organization (ILO) called on the Venezuelan government to launch "an independent investigation into allegations of detention and torture", surrounding this strike.
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) The strike caused substantial macroeconomic damage, pushing unemployment up by 5% to a peak of over 20% in March 2003.
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In 2005 PDVSA opened its first office in
China, and announced plans to nearly triple its fleet of
oil tankers, to 58.
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In April and May 2005 PDVSA, per an agreement signed between the governments of Venezuela and
Argentina, sent 50 million
tonnes of
fuel oil to the latter, in order to alleviate the effects of an
energy crisis due to a shortage of
natural gas.
In November 2005, PDVSA and its subsidiary in the U.S., Citgo, announced an agreement with
Massachusetts to provide
heating oil to low income families in Boston at a discount of 40% below market price.
(External Link) Similar agreements were later set up with other states and cities in the US Northeast including New York's
Bronx,
Maine,
Rhode Island,
Pennsylvania,
Vermont and
Delaware. Under the program, Citgo offered a total of around 50 million gallons of heating oil at below market prices, equivalent to a discount of between 60 and 80 cents a gallon.
In February 2006 PDVSA completed
ISO 9001:2000 process certification for its distribution system.
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On July 28, 2006, credit ratings agency
Moody's Investor Service said it was removing its standalone ratings on PDVSA because the oil company doesn't provide adequate operational and financial information. PDVSA has still not filed its 2004 financial results with the US
Securities and Exchange Commission that were due in June 2005.
In 2007, PDVSA bought 82.14% percent of
Electricidad de Caracas company from
AES Corporation as part of a renationalization program.
Presidents of PDVSA
Overseas assets
Citgo Petroleum Corporation, USA - Citgo is 100% owned by PDVSA.
Ruhr Oel, Germany - PDVSA holds 50% of Ruhr Oel, the other half belonging to BP's German unit Aral AG.
Nynäs Petroleum, Sweden - PDVSA owns a 50% stake with Finland's Neste Oil Oyj holding the other 50%.
Bahamas Oil Refining Company (BORCO), Bahamas - PDVSA is the sole owner of this oil storage terminal in the Caribbean.
Hovensa LLC refinery, US Virgin Islands - Hovensa is jointly owned by PDVSA and Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp.
Isla refinery, Curacao - PDVSA leases the Isla refinery in the Netherlands Antilles.
BOPEC, Bonaire petroleum corporation 100% owned by pdvsa 12MMBb storage facility Bonaire Netherlands Antilles.
PDVSA also has offices in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, China, Cuba, Spain and Netherlands.
Alleged politicization
Venezuela's energy minister and head of PDVSA, Rafael Ramírez, gained attention when he told state oil workers to back President Hugo Chávez or leave their jobs. He also said: "PDVSA is red, red from top to bottom (...) - PDVSA es roja, rojita de arriba a abajo (...)" (Red being the color identified with Chávez's political party). The opposition said it's illegal for the government to exhort workers to secure Chávez's re-election in the 3 December 2006 elections.
Chávez defended Ramírez arguing that public workers should back up the "revolution". He also said that "PDVSA's workers are with this revolution, and those who aren't should go somewhere else. Go to Miami". Furthermore, Chávez stated that Ramírez should give the same speech to oil workers 100 times a day.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Pdvsa'.
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