Oil tankers still arriving in Venezuela despite US blockade, shows data
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The Guinea-flagged oil tanker MT Bandra, which is under sanctions, is partially seen alongside another vessel at El Palito terminal, near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela on Dec 29.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Despite US sanctions, tankers are still reaching Venezuela, with some sanctioned ships arriving recently and more approaching, says TankerTrackers.com.
- PDVSA uses oil to pay for services and debts, including Chinese debt service, but faces buyer impatience and cargo delays due to cyberattacks.
- Venezuela expands floating storage to continue crude sales despite sanctions, experiencing oil output cuts and fuel scarcity similar to 2020.
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CARACAS – At least two oil tankers have made their way to Venezuela in recent days and others are navigating towards the country, a sign of state-run Petroleos de Venezuela’s (PDVSA) effort to expand floating storage and keep selling crude even as a US blockade has reduced exports to a minimum.
US President Donald Trump in December announced a blockade of all sanctioned vessels
The US has seized two fully loaded cargoes of Venezuelan oil,
Some tanker owners have insisted. At least two ships under sanctions have arrived in Venezuela over the last few days and two more that are not under sanctions are approaching its coast, according to monitoring service TankerTrackers.com.
As part of swops and arrangements made since the country was first placed under US energy sanctions in 2019, Mr Maduro's administration pays for a long list of purchases and services with oil, including debt service to China.
The two vessels approaching Venezuela are part of a fleet used by China and Venezuela to pay debt service with crude bound for Chinese ports. It was unclear whether China will press for a US waiver to secure delivery of those cargoes.
PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment.
Venezuela’s Oil Ministry and Mr Maduro have said oil exports will continue.
PDVSA has been negotiating price discounts and contract changes with customers in December to avoid cargo returns or crude production cutbacks. But many buyers are growing impatient as there are no real alternatives to get oil cargoes out of the country, even in non-sanctioned tankers, company sources said.
A cyberattack forced PDVSA to shut down its centralised administrative system in December. The company is now delivering cargoes at its ports at a slower pace, both to fulfil loading windows for export and to store crude and fuel in ships, expanding its storage capacity.
The only loaded vessels departing are Chevron’s tankers, which continue setting sail for the US under Washington’s authorisation, and small ships carrying oil byproducts and petrochemicals, shipping data and PDVSA documents showed.
A similar situation in 2020, when Washington ramped up pressure on Mr Maduro by imposing sanctions on PDVSA’s main trading partners, forced the country to switch to little-known intermediaries to keep selling its oil to Chinese buyers.
Those US measures triggered oil output cuts, oilfield shutdowns and severe scarcity of motor fuel. It took Venezuela years to reach one million barrels per day of output again, recover some refining capacity and stabilise exports.
As at this week, almost two dozen tankers were visible from shore near the Jose port waiting for loading windows or for departure instructions. The volume of oil stuck in undeparted tankers increased to about 16 million barrels, from 11 million barrels in mid-December, according to the data and documents. REUTERS
