500,000 Barrels Of Oil Forced To Offload In Venezuela After Export Permit Cancelled

Oil Tanker — Image for representation purpose only

A tanker chartered by Chevron is about to complete offloading nearly 500,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil at a local port after Venezuela’s state-run oil firm PDVSA ordered the cargo to be returned.

Per shipping data and a source familiar with the matter, the vessel Carina Voyager, which sails under the Bahamian flag and is managed by a Chevron unit, started discharging its cargo on Saturday at PDVSA’s Jose terminal.

The offloading process is expected to finish by Monday.

At least nine tankers previously chartered by Chevron to export Venezuelan crude to the United States have been left stranded in the Caribbean Sea.

These tankers were scheduled to deliver oil under a special US license set to expire on May 27. However, PDVSA recently cancelled loading permits for several cargoes and ordered at least two already-loaded shipments to return.

Another Chevron cargo is also being sent back. The Dubai Attraction, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, is expected to return around 300,000 barrels of Boscan heavy crude.

It will be discharged at PDVSA’s Amuay Terminal in the next few days, once the US company completes a port inspection, a source close to PDVSA’s operations said.

Venezuela’s Vice President and Oil Minister, Delcy Rodriguez, addressed the situation on social media. She claimed that US sanctions had prevented Chevron from completing its payments for the crude which led to the return of cargoes.

Rodriguez added that the returned oil was now being sold in international markets.

Chevron has not yet responded when asked for comment on the matter.

The ongoing issues are linked to a license the US Treasury Department granted Chevron in 2022, allowing the company to operate in Venezuela despite sanctions.

However, that license was cancelled in March by the US government under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Chevron along with other PDVSA partners including Italy’s Eni, Spain’s Repsol, France’s Maurel & Prom, and India’s Reliance Industries, was given until May 27 to wrap up all oil export operations to the US, Europe and Asia.

Reference: Reuters

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