HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Loading delays caused by the poor quality of oil from Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA cut the OPEC-member’s exports in November to below third-quarter levels, internal PDVSA documents and tracking data showed.
PDVSA in the second half of this year began taking advantage of a stable supply of Iranian condensate to dilute the South American nation’s extra heavy oil and increase crude output so it could meet demand for both exports and domestic consumption.
But the reshuffle has come at a cost: an excess of water in some exportable crudes is creating loading delays, while the constant discharge of imported condensate is depriving PDVSA of key infrastructure for exports, leading to an inventory build.
PDVSA and its joint ventures delivered 572,567 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and refined products to customers last month, almost 20% below the previous month and about 2% below exports in the same month last year, the data showed.
