PDVSA and Enarsa join LNG train
Venezuela's state-run PDVSA and its Argentine counterpart Enarsa have signed an agreement to form a JV for the construction and operation of Venezuela's first LNG liquefaction facility to be built at the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho industrial facility in Guiria city in Sucre state and set to liquefy 4.7 thousand tonnes per year.
A gas pipeline will be constructed to provide the facility with natural gas produced from Block 2 of the Deltana platform offshore Venezuela, according to the statement.
US-based multinational Chevron has a 60% stake in Deltana's Block 2, and PDVSA can buy an increased share in the block when commerciality is declared, said BNamericas.
PDVSA will hold a 60% stake in the new LNG JV and Enarsa will have a 10% share.
The remaining 30% will be held by "third parties," PDVSA said.
The objective is to ship the gas to Argentina, which has faced increasing natural gas shortages.
An industry source, however, said that news about the potential third-party partner should be viewed with caution.
"Remember, PDVSA has a 100% stake in the Deltana-1 Block, and we're still checking to verify the information about Block 2," the source said.
PDVSA E&P vice president Luis Vierma, however, said in January last year that Chevron was interested in developing the country's first LNG train.
Chevron also has a 100% interest in Deltana's Block 3.
A conceptual offshore development plan was completed in last year on Block 2, which includes the Loran natural gas field.
Both block 3 and Loran could provide a supply source for Venezuela's first LNG train, Chevron said in a 10-K filing with US financial regular SEC in February.
A Chevron spokesperson could not immediately comment on the PDVSA statement, and PDVSA and Enarsa declined to comment.
Enarsa and PDVSA have already launched a round for the construction of regasification facilities in Argentina's Bahia Blanca