The Venezuelan Oil Thread

[Mik]

Indeed. Fool me once....

[jon-nyc]

We’re already in fool me twice territory. They nationalized the American-led industry in the 70s. Then in the 90s they invited us back in only to unilaterally dilute the companies’ stakes in the early 2000s.

[Renauda]

@jon-nyc

In the 70’s across OPEC nations the oil industry was nationalised. Perfect example being Saudi Aramco. Venezuela’s PDVSA was no different; at least until Chavez took power in the early 2000s.

[blondie]

@renauda I had a friend whose brother worked in Venezuela in the late 1990s. She was constantly worried of him given the violence and cartels, how they were surrounded by armed protection 24/7 .
I know a little bit more of shale than I do of heavy oil. But many of my neighbors are up in places like Kearl where it really does take advanced knowledge, skills, guts to get the sticky stuff from the ground, then hauled out. Do they use robotics with rigs in Venezula? How about autonomous operations like hauling? Has Venezula advanced over time like we have? I’ll have to read more of it. I agree with what others imply. I think the Texans will sit back and wait. There’s too much risk now.

[jon-nyc]

Believe it or not, I briefly consulted for PDVSA in the 90s. Maybe a 6 week assignment.

[Renauda]

@blondie

Do they use robotics with rigs in Venezula?

I doubt they have used any robotic rigs unless either the Russians or Chinese brought in a couple. Not likely though. Anything that remained in PDVSA from before Chavez would have old tech the American and Canadian contractors left behind. Anything of technical value they would have expedited out of Vz or rendered it inoperable if they couldn’t get it out of the country.

In Robotics never became widely used here until the 2000s. Twenty years ago even there remained a lot of scepticism in the drilling industry about automated equipment on the drill floor. I understand that only changed in last 15 years when the big rig manufacturers like NOI acquired the small manufacturers building automated rigs. The vast bulk of rigs out there still operate as before but are retrofitted with robotic components on the drill floor.

How about autonomous operations like hauling?

Not sure what you mean. Like an in situ bitumen mining operation as in Ft. Mac?

[blondie]

@renauda Yes. If you google Kearl autonomous hauling you can see lots of video. Imperial’s entire fleet of haulers (Catepillar 797s) run without drivers. And, they are refuelled with robotics.
I’ll have to ask what type of other robotic operations are done with the oil sands. The guys on my street love talking to me of what they do up there.

[Renauda]

@blondie

Got it!

I doubt with high certainty there is anything like that in Vz.

Edit: we use that tech here because we mine the bitumen. Recovery in VZ is by either waterflood or cold heavy oil production. Pretty basic and inefficient recovery - 10% at best.

[Axtremus]

@Renauda said in The Venezuelan Oil Thread:

Pretty basic and inefficient recovery - 10% at best.

Just curious ... does that 10% mean they only recover 10% of the oil that's in whatever it is that passes through their process?

[Renauda]

Yes, 90% often remains in situ (underground in the formation) owing antiquated recovery methods and until modern enhanced recovery methods are utilised it will remain unrecoverable. Also many of the existing producing wells are already badly damaged by water flooding recovery. Others stopped producing altogether long ago.

[Axtremus]

@Mik said in The Venezuelan Oil Thread:

... I suspect companies are going to want to see Venezuela stabilized and on a capitalist track

Does "state capitalism" count?