Gas stations to close on Sundays... in nation with largest oil reserves and nearly free gas (VZ)

[GatoGordo]

Gas stations will close on Sundays due to increased labor costs
Sales of gasoline and diesel in the pumps dropped because there are fewer public and private transport units in circulation, industry sources said.



By ANA DÍAZ | [email protected]
JULY 3, 2018 01:59 AM

The owners of the service stations agreed not to attend the public on Sundays to compensate for the increase in labor costs, said concessionary sales representatives who requested not to mention their names.

"The labor costs increased a lot not only because of the salary increases and the food allowance decreed by the government, but because of the difficulties of the staff to move from their homes to the workplace, due to the lack of collective transportation," said the manager of a bomb in the oste of Caracas.

Another owner said that for the above reasons and personal insecurity in cities and roads, many 24-hour gas stations also remain closed at night. He added that they evaluate applying the measure an additional day in the week if the problems are not solved soon.

The dealers highlighted that the sales of gasoline and diesel have dropped because there are fewer vehicles that will fill the tank. "Trucks and buses almost do not come. A couple of months ago I bought a daily fuel gas, now I do it every two days ". A fuel tank contains between 30,000 and 35,000 liters.

"With this reduction in consumption, of course the long queues are over," said the owner of a gas station in Caracas. When asked about the adaptation of accounting records and suppliers to the monetary reconversion of the bolivar fuerte to the sovereign bolivar that will govern as of August 4, he replied: "We have not been informed of that yet."

-snip-

http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/economia/gasolineras-cerraran-los-domingos-por-aumento-los-costos-laborales_242427

1. Venezuela cannot refine its own extra thick oil into gasoline. The oil is refined elsewhere, then re-imported.
2. Fewer tanker trucks operating, as there is no spare parts for repairing them. No tires. No belts. NO MOTOR OIL.
3. Fewer cars on the road, despite the fact that a full tank of gas runs about 30 cents. Again, no replacement parts, no tires, and MOTOR OIL is routinely stolen from them during the night. No new cars sold in Venezuela in last 3 years.
4. Buses operation at 10%. Despite the fact that they are Chinese buses, they can't get replacement parts from China, because NOBODY ACCEPTS VENEZUELAN CREDIT, and the Bolivar is worthless.
5. The subway is constantly shutting down due to lack of electricity. (Chavismo blames saboteurs and "sun too close to Venezuela")
6. Citizens taking DANGEROUS "kennel trucks" as mass transit... which Chavismo recently approved for mass transport. Also included? Flatbed trailers and dump trucks.

[DetlefK]

1. I have read the venezuelan crude oil is of really bad quality.

It's not just that the crude is heavy. It's full of water, minerals and organic impurities. And it takes a lot of petrochemical treatment (time&money) to get all this stuff out of the crude. And even then you still have a heavy crude that's not very good for producing gasoline.

Sure, you can leave all these impurities in your crude when you refine it to gasoline. But then you will get gasoline full of impurities. It won't combust the way it should (which means you have to recalibrate the car's ignition) and the combustion produces chemical byproducts that will ruin your motor in the mid-term to long-term. Plus, the exhaust-fumes are extra-nasty.

[GatoGordo]

2. You are exactly correct

Not only is it thick and full of sulfur (heavy sour), but is very low grade (name eludes me), and when it can be pumped out, they often dilute it with sea water, because they cannot afford diluants!

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-oil-insight/venezuelas-deteriorating-oil-quality-riles-major-refiners-idUSKBN1CN2EO

Venezuela's deteriorating oil quality riles major refiners
Alexandra Ulmer, Marianna Parraga
8 MIN READ

CARACAS/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Venezuela’s state-run oil firm, PDVSA, is increasingly delivering poor quality crude oil to major refiners in the United States, India and China, causing repeated complaints, canceled orders and demands for discounts, according to internal PDVSA documents and interviews with a dozen oil executives, workers, traders and inspectors.

The disputes involve cargoes soiled with high levels of water, salt or metals that can cause problems for refineries, according to the sources and internal PDVSA trade documents seen by Reuters.

The quality issues stem from shortages of chemicals and equipment to properly treat and store the oil, resulting in shutdowns and slowdowns at PDVSA production facilities, along with hurried transporting to avoid late deliveries, the sources said.

U.S. refiner Phillips 66 (PSX.N) canceled at least eight crude cargoes because of poor oil quality in the first half of the year and demanded discounts on other deliveries, according to the PDVSA documents and employees from both firms. The canceled shipments - amounting to 4.4 million barrels of oil - had a market value of nearly $200 million.

Another key buyer of Venezuelan crude - India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS), operator of the world’s largest refinery - has repeatedly complained about oil quality, a PDVSA employee told Reuters. State-run firm China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) also complained earlier this year about excessive water levels in oil cargoes, a former PDVSA employee said.