Venezuela’s oil exports rose in Feb forward of Chevron’s license termination

By Marianna Parraga

(Reuters) – Venezuela’s exports of crude and gasoline rose in February to their highest since November, vessel monitoring information confirmed, because the U.S. ready to terminate a key license that permits oil main Chevron to function and ship crude from the nation.

Venezuela’s oil output and exports have grown since Chevron was granted the license in late 2022, offering a dependable income to President Nicolas Maduro’s administration. The corporate in January shipped to the U.S. greater than 30% of the South American nation’s complete exports.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Division ordered the wind-down of Chevron’s actions in Venezuela within the subsequent 30 days, after President Trump accused Maduro of not making progress on electoral reforms and migrant returns.

Venezuela’s state power firm PDVSA and its three way partnership companions final month exported a mean of 934,465 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and gasoline. China remained the most important market of Venezuela’s oil, receiving some 503,000 bpd, in response to the info.

The U.S. was the second largest receiver with 239,000 bpd, adopted by Europe with 69,200 bpd and India with 68,000 bpd. Chevron’s exports to the U.S. and different locations from its joint ventures fell to 252,000 bpd in February from 294,000 bpd the earlier month.

Venezuela’s political ally Cuba, which is struggling to maintain the lights on throughout a extreme power disaster, obtained some 42,000 bpd of crude and gasoline.

Venezuela additionally exported 315,000 metric tons of oil byproducts and petrochemicals, together with methanol and urea, a decline from the 360,000 tons shipped in January.

The nation imported 86,000 bpd of gasoline by swaps with PDVSA’s companions, a decline from the 132,000 bpd of January, the info confirmed.

Since Washington first imposed oil sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, PDVSA has relied on little recognized intermediaries that purchase its oil at value reductions and supply it to China. In addition they cost PDVSA pricey charges for freight, ship-to-ship transfers and discharge.

With no incentives to proceed delivering cargoes to Chevron below the brand new license’s phrases, that are but to be detailed by the U.S. Treasury, PDVSA is predicted to ship extra oil to China by these intermediaries within the coming moths, analysts have mentioned.

U.S. refiners of heavy crude, notably within the Gulf of Mexico, are anticipated to really feel the hit of the license withdrawal, which is going on on the identical time Trump imposes tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the highest suppliers of oil to the U.S.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Modifying by David Gregorio)