Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (Pdvsa) has completed a technical feasibility study for building a 3,190-km, $3.6 billion pipeline to transport crude oil from eastern Venezuela to Florida.
According to a recently disclosed industry report, the proposed mostly subsea pipeline would stretch from Guanta, in Anzoategui state, eastern Venezuela, to the southernmost tip of Florida, linking and serving several Caribbean customers, including Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba.
The report said the possibility of building a Venezuela-Florida pipe- line capable of transporting about 300,000 b/d of oil was analyzed by the state-owned Venezuelan oil industry, based on the expected rapid growth of hydrocarbon exports to the U.S.
The idea to do a technical pre-feasibility study on the possibility of such a pipeline emerged in 1991 with Pdvsa subsidiary Corpoven taking charge of the initiative and utilizing a technical agreement it has with British Petroleum Co. plc.
According to the industry report, the proposed pipeline would begin in Guanta and extend along the eastern coastal waters of Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Guadalupe, and St. Maarten. In Martinique and St. Maarten, the pipeline would extend onshore. From there, the pipeline would continue along the northern coastal waters of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and finally to Florida.
Under the initiative, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba each would receive about 50,000 b/d of oil, and Florida would receive the remaining 150,000 b/d, the report said.
While the report underlines that the pipeline project is technically feasible and would require a construction period of 8-10 years, it indicated that a series of geopolitical matters would have to be considered before a final decision is made on the project.
As an example, it noted that the pipeline would have to run overland in Cuba as well as under its territorial waters. Given the political situation on the island and the final destination of crude transported through the pipeline, in-depth evaluation would be required before any decisions could be made.
The report also said the complex political situation throughout the many Caribbean islands involved, tourism aspects, and concerns for international law must first be carefully analyzed in preparation for a project of that magnitude.
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