PdV to increase light oil imports to act as diluent

Venezuela's PdV is ramping up imports of light oil to use as diluent at its Orinoco projects

PdV has been importing around 48,000 barrels of light crude a day to its Isla refinery in Curacao, freeing up domestically-produced Mesa and Santa Barbara light crude grades to be used as diluent in the Orinoco oilfields, Jesus Luongo, a senior executive in the downstream and marketing business, said in a statement. Luongo said that the 48,000 barrels a day (b/d) figure is up 15% from 2014, and that light crude imports are expected to rise to around 65,000 b/d in 2016. The Orinoco belt holds vast amounts of extra-heavy oil, but turning it into marketable crude requires post-production upgrading. This has historically been done at a series of upgraders along the country's Caribbean coast, whe