International
Trade
Cargo that has arrived at Puerto Cabello:
- 180 heavy transport units, including 50 trucks
and cisterns, from China for government construction projects.
- 6,400
tons of powdered milk from Colombia for state agency Corporación de
Abastecimiento y Servicios Agrícolas (CASA)
- 209,300 tons of powdered milk from Nestlé
Argentina for Nestlé Venezuela
- 937 tons of frozen beef for CASA
- Over 818 tons of medicine from FARMACUBA for FUNDACIÓN
ORO NEGRO
- 177 tons of disposable diapers from Procter &
Gamble for its subsidiary in Venezuela
Oil &
Energy
PDVSA halting Colombia
gas imports
State oil company PDVSA said it would not renew
a contract to import gas from neighboring Colombia and would instead tap local
production to supply its gas-deficient western region. The neighbors in 2007
inaugurated a 140-mile (225-km) natural gas pipeline with capacity to transport
150 million cubic feet per day of natural gas. The plan was for Venezuela to
import gas from Colombia for four to seven years and then reverse the flow so
that Venezuela would export gas as new projects came online. But PDVSA said in
a statement "supply in the past
months has been completely irregular, with frequent problems that have even at
times turned off supplies altogether."
The current contract is for 50 million cubic feet per day from
Colombia's ECOPETROL and oil and natural gas producer CHEVRON, but that supply
fell to 20 million in the last month, the company added. PDVSA said it would
next month put in service the Cardon IV block, located in the vast Rafael
Urdaneta natural gas field in the Gulf of Maracaibo, to meet domestic gas demand.
The block was given under license to Spanish oil major REPSOL and Italian oil
company ENI. It is slated to reach production of 450 million cubic feet per day
this year, PDVSA added. PDVSA said the current gas supply contract between
Colombia and Venezuela ends on June 30. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/11/venezuela-colombia-gas-idUSL1N0YX2GM20150611)
Cuba still gets oil from Venezuela
Cuba is still receiving around 90,000 BPD from
Venezuela, along with other products, according to oil expert Jorge Piñón, of
Austin University in Texas. More in Spanish: (El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/petroleo/industria/cuba-aun-recibe-petroleo-y-otros-productos-conveni.aspx#ixzz3ckLCT19Y)
US surpassing Saudis
in oil output among world’s ‘tectonic’ energy shifts in 2014
An eventful 2014 in the world oil and gas
markets was headlined by the US overtaking Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest
oil producer and surpassing Russia as the world’s largest producer of both oil
and gas, BP PLC said in its 64th Statistical Review of World Energy released
June 10. The US last year recorded the
largest oil output growth in the world at 1.6 million b/d, becoming the first
country ever to increase production by at least 1 million b/d for 3 consecutive
years. (Oil&Gas Journal, http://www.ogj.com/articles/2015/06/bp-us-surpassing-saudis-in-oil-output-among-world-s-tectonic-energy-shifts-in-2014.html?cmpid=EnlDailyJune102015&eid=288251412&bid=1093615)
Commodities
Venezuela to sell US$ 350 million to transport sector
as parts scarcity bites
Venezuela announced it will sell US$ 350 million to
the transport sector at a favorable rate of the country's currency system, amid
growing frustration over lack of spare parts in the shortages-hit country. "I've ordered the Finance Minister and state
currency board CENCOEX to next week auction US$ 350 million at SICAD for the transport
sector," President Nicolas Maduro said in a televised broadcast,
without providing details. Under the complex three-tiered currency control, the
SICAD rate is currently equivalent to roughly 12 bolivars per U.S. dollar, a
much more attractive rate than the black market's approximately 416 bolivars. The
announcement comes as companies struggle to obtain hard currency to import
parts under the 12-year-old currency system, especially as dollar sales are
curtailed amid a deep recession. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/10/us-venezuela-forex-transportation-idUSKBN0OQ07I20150610)
Economy
& Finance
Venezuela draws another US$ 1.5 billion from IMF as
reserves continue to plunge
According an unofficial source, Venezuela has called
in another US% 1.5 billion from its special drawing rights with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). The previous withdrawal took place two weeks
ago, and remaining funds are now approximately US$ 1.3 billion. Analysts
believe the move is due to pressing import and debt service needs. Former
Central Bank Chief Analyst José Guerra says "When reserves are withdrawn from the IMF something serious is going on.
This means liquid reserves are running out. The government then decides to cash
in one of its assets to finance expenses. But no country does this, not even
Greece". Analyst Anabella Abadi of ODH says: "Last year they moved money from the Chinese Fund
into reserves, as well as the gold swap and liquidating the Dominican
Republic's debt to PETROCARIBE - but it is money that is spent very quickly".
International reserves are down from US$16.864 billion, a new low since 2003.
After the most recent withdrawal from the IMF they could be down to around US$
15 billion, which means cash available for imports and debt service would be
below US$ 1 billion. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150612/que-esta-pasando; El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Giordani says there is no control over the economy,
calls it a "time bomb"
Former Chavez Planning Vice
President Jorge Giordani, who held office for 13 years up to a year ago, says
there is no economic model in Venezuela today, no "direction" or leadership in an economy that is undergoing a
"serious distortion".
"There is no direction here, they
are playing it by ear", he says, adding "it is a time bomb" due to many reasons, among them "lack of leadership". More in
Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/politica/exministro-giordani--en-venezuela-no-hay-control-s.aspx#ixzz3ckK4EIrB)
Politics and
International Affairs
OAS Secretary General offers to observe Venezuelan
legislative elections
OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro has announced that
the organization is willing to send technical elections observers to Venezuela,
as requested by the opposition umbrella group Unified Democratic Conference
(MUD), if the government of Nicolas Maduro accepts. "We will be inflexible concerning respect for human rights and
democracy, there will be no double standards," he added. The Executive
Secretary of the MUD, Jesús Torrealba, applauded the proposal of the head of
the OAS. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150611/oas-secretary-general-offers-electoral-observation-in-venezuela)
Gonzalez termss the situation in Venezuela a "catastrophe", says Maduro is a
hindrance to Castro
Former Spanish President Felipe Gonzalez departed
Venezuela aboard a Colombian Air Force aircraft sent by President Juan Manuel
Santos, after being denied permission to see imprisoned opposition leaders
Leopoldo López and Daniel Ceballos. His visit is proving that the dictatorial
nature of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who heaped insults on the
Spanish statesman and called in the Colombian Ambassador for an explanation.
González said afterwards that Maduro "is
the one responsible for the destruction of Venezuela", and thanked him
because due to his "clumsiness"
he has made his mission have "a
great repercussion everywhere". He says he left Caracas "seriously worried and sad" because
if it "a country in the process of
destruction, and Nicolás Maduro is responsible for the catastrophe in personal
safety, the social crisis and in basis freedoms". He adds that
Venezuela needs "dialogue and
reconciliation", but that "dialogue
is not coming because there is no mood dialogue in the government";
and further says that Maduro's performance "is today much more of a hindrance to Raúl Castro than of any help".
(Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2390110&CategoryId=10717;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150610/colombias-santos-authorizes-air-force-plane-to-pick-up-felipe-gonzalez;
and more in Spanish: Infolatam: http://www.infolatam.com/2015/06/11/gonzalez-vuelve-preocupado-y-achaca-a-maduro-la-destruccion-de-venezuela/)
EU-CELAC Summit declaration includes indirect
reference to US sanctions against Venezuela
The countries of the European Union (EU) and the
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) reached an agreement
to include an indirect mention of the sanctions imposed by the United States on
Venezuelan officials in the final declaration of the EU-CELAC Summit, which
reads: "unilateral coercive measures
that have extraterritorial effects that are contrary to international law".
(El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150611/eu-celac-summit-declaration-to-mention-us-sanctions-against-venezuela;
and more in Spanish: (Infolatam: http://www.infolatam.com/2015/06/11/ue-y-america-latina-caribe-de-acuerdo-en-casi-todo-menos-venezuela/;
El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Jailed former mayor ends hunger strike in Venezuela
A former Venezuelan mayor jailed last year for his
role in anti-government protests has ended a 20-day hunger strike that
supporters said had weakened him and triggered kidney pain. Daniel Ceballos,
formerly mayor of the opposition hotbed of San Cristobal in western Venezuela,
had stopped eating to demand the release of jailed politicians and that the
government set a date for this year's parliamentary elections. Hours
afterwards, Venezuelan government ombudsman Tarek William Saab announced that
Ceballos was being transferred to a new place of detention in Caracas. Fellow
jailed hardline opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez started a partial hunger
strike 18 days ago. It was not immediately clear if he too would resume eating.
Some moderates in the opposition have criticized the high-profile hunger
strikes as distractions from this year's key elections and Venezuela's
day-to-day problems, which include shortages of everything from medicines to
milk, severe crime rates, and soaring inflation that gobbles up purchasing
power. (Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/;
and more in Spanish: El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150612/daniel-ceballos-levanto-huelga-de-hambre-tras-20-dias; Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/daniel-ceballos-fue-trasladado-al-helicoide.aspx; El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Venezuela threatening energy exploration in Guyana, UN
mediation sought
Venezuela has unilaterally extended its maritime
boundary with Guyana by presidential decree. The order led Guyana to announce
June 8 that it would summon Venezuela's ambassador to Guyana to explain the
measure. Venezuela's decision to lay claim to additional Guyanese territory
could have the added effect of delaying future energy exploration in Guyanese
offshore blocks. While Venezuela's presidential order is only recognized under
Venezuelan law, it could complicate Guyanese efforts to attract foreign energy
firms to explore and develop the country's offshore resources. By extending the
Atlantic Maritime Integral Defense Zone to Guyanese waters, Caracas is now
empowered to conduct military operations within that defense zone. Venezuelan
military vessels could then, in theory, sail into these disputed waters, and some
foreign firms will be dissuaded from further operations in the area, prolonging
additional exploration and development of the offshore energy resources claimed
by Venezuela. However, the possibility that Venezuela will intervene to
reinforce its claim cannot be completely ruled out. With the Venezuelan
government facing crucial parliamentary elections later in 2015 amid a
deepening economic crisis and the government's crumbling popularity, exerting
claims to Guyanese territory could boost the ruling party's approval ratings. Venezuela
had demanded that Guyana halt oil exploration being carried out by Exxon Mobil
Corp in disputed offshore territory in an escalation of a long-running border
dispute. Guyana’s Independent Party has asked its government to declare
Venezuela’s Ambassador persona non grata, a diplomatic step towards expulsion;
and a group of Guyanese people protested outside the Venezuelan Embassy against
Nicolás Maduro’s decree. Guyanese Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge has asked UN
Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon to mediate in the border dispute, a move welcomed
by Venezuela. (Stratfor:
https://www.stratfor.com/sample/analysis/venezuela-new-tactic-discouraging-energy-exploration-guyana;
(Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44244&idc=1;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150610/maduro-instructs-fm-to-contact-guyana-over-diplomatic-mistake;
(Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/10/guyana-venezuela-oil-idUSL1N0YW00R20150610;
Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44229&idc=1;
and mMore in Spanish: El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150612/guyana-pide-a-ban-ki-moon-que-medie-con-venezuela; AVN; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/venezuela-saluda-decisi%C3%B3n-guyana-cumplir-acuerdo-ginebra-sobre-diferendo-territorial; Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/venezuela-saluda-declaraciones-de-canciller-guyane.aspx)
Mexican President Peña Nieto supports human rights in
Venezuela
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto came out in favor
of "respect for human rights"
in Venezuela, Referring to the recent visit by former Spanish President Felipe
González to Caracas he said: "Efforts
so that in that nation which we respect there should be full respect for the
rule of law, for democracy, will always be well regarded." More in Spanish:
(El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/internacional/pena-nieto-pide-respeto-a-los-derechos-humanos-en.aspx#ixzz3cqKCryyC)
The following brief is a synthesis of the news
as reported by a variety of media sources. As such, the views and opinions
expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Duarte Vivas & Asociados and
The Selinger Group.
