Venezuela should disband, replace PDVSA, former official recommends lweb.es/f817
OEF REVIEW:While Venezuela’s new legislative majority faces many immediate concerns with the Nicolas Maduro regime following a Dec. 6 election, it also should begin to disband and replace Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), a former board member of the national oil company said. “I believe PDVSA is impossible to upgrade,” said Gustavo Coronel, a petroleum geologist and consultant on energy geopolitics and public policy who was a member of the Venezuelan Congress before then-President Hugo Chavez dissolved it. “It should be replaced by another model of oil industry management in Venezuela.”
OEF REVIEW:The February 2016 OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report indicates the following, on page 17, with regard to “Recent Interactions Between the Oil Market and the Global Economy”: It seems that the overall negative effect from the sharp decline in oil prices since mid-2014 has outweighed benefits in the short-term and there seems to be a ‘contagious’ effect taking place across many aspects of the global economy…more
OEF REVIEW:The head of Russian state-run oil company Rosneft on Wednesday floated the idea of a coordinated output cut by major oil-producing countries to prop up sagging prices but fell short of saying whether Moscow would contribute to such a plan. Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin, in a speech at the International Petroleum Week conference in London, attributed oversupply in the market to overproduction by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. He suggested major oil producers each cut production by 1 million barrels per day.
OEF REVIEW:According to latest figures from the International Hydropower Association (IHA), the 1,036 GW of hydropower capacity generated over 16 percent of global electricity production in 2014. Looking to the year ahead, IHA identified several trends driving hydropower build-out. Prominent on the list is hydropower’s ability to function as a grid management asset: delivering base- and peak-load energy, frequency response and black-start capabilities. These solutions are recognized as critical to facilitate a successful transition to renewable energy. A second trend fostering steady investment is modernization, uprating, and conversion of existing plants in efforts to secure more efficient and sustainable operations. A third driver motivating fresh momentum for hydropower stems from ancillary hydropower functions that can assist nations in adapting to climate change: providing freshwater for irrigation, drought management and flood protection solutions. 
OEF REVIEW:A handful of shale patches in the state, which would be the world’s sixth-largest oil producer if it were a country, are profitable with crude below $30 a barrel, according to an analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence. In the Eagle Ford’s DeWitt County, which produced more than 100,000 barrels of oil per day in November, the average well can be profitable with U.S. benchmark crude at $22.52 a barrel, $4 below the lowest level this year. Drive 200 miles southwest to Dimmit County, and drillers need $58 oil. The wide range of break-evens illustrates one reason why shale production from exploration and production companies has been more resilient than expected, filling storage tanks in the U.S. to levels not seen in 85 years.
OEF REVIEW:Several factors have played a part in pushing U.S. crude oil prices below $30 per barrel, including high inventory levels of crude oil, uncertainty about global economic growth, volatility in equity and non-energy commodity markets, and the potential for additional crude oil supply to enter the market. Crude oil and petroleum product inventories, both domestically and internationally, have been growing since mid-2014 and are above five-year averages for this date.
OEF REVIEW:The impact of sharply lower oil prices is being felt around the globe. Oil-dependent countries are trying to mend busted budgets. Oil companies are cutting production and workers. While consumers in some countries enjoy lower gas prices, elsewhere consumers are paying higher food prices due to declines in the local currency. This article gives some facts and figures from the USA, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Europe/Russia, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.