Pipeline rupture curbs Venezuelan gas production
Venezuelan natural gas production levels were lowered as a result of a rupture on a pipeline in the east of the country, a rupture the government said March 22 was the result of terrorism.
Argus media on March 22 reported that state-owned PDVSA shut down about 20% of its total natural gas production following a pipeline rupture during the weekend. The rupture impacted output from the Furrial and Quiriquire fields in the state of Monagas near the northeastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
The disruption impacted about 3bn ft3/day of natural gas production. Argus cites a PDVSA manager as saying a corroded section of the pipeline failed after the company was working to increase flow volumes from the fields in Monagas.
Officially, the government said the disruption was the result of an act of terrorism, a frequent claim from Caracas.
Rich in oil and gas as a founding member of OPEC, Venezuelan production capacity has been hampered recently by the crumbling infrastructure of an isolated economy.
Exploration and production activity has ground to a halt. OPEC economists in the latest monthly market report for March put the total 2020 rig count in Venezuela at eight, a 68% decline from the previous year.