Final Chevron-chartered vessel begins to return oil cargo in Venezuela, information and supply say

HOUSTON (Reuters) -A vessel chartered by Chevron carrying some 300,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil was set to start out discharging at a Venezuelan port on Thursday, in line with delivery information and a supply.

It could be the final tanker to return its cargo following state firm PDVSA’s order to return the crude amid cost uncertainty associated to U.S. sanctions.

The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, Dubai Attraction, on Thursday entered a berth in Amuay terminal, Venezuela, to start out discharging the cargo it initially meant to export, LSEG delivery information confirmed.

Chevron and PDVSA didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who can be the OPEC nation’s oil minister, has blamed the U.S. measures for the problem, saying they prevented Chevron from paying for the oil.

Venezuela’s oil exports fell virtually 20% in April to 700,000 barrels per day, the bottom in 9 months, because of the cargo cancellations. Chevron’s exports of Venezuelan crude to the U.S. plummeted 69% to some 66,000 bpd as a consequence of PDVSA’s measures.

Some tankers Chevron had chartered to maneuver crude from Venezuela to the U.S. have been marketed for spot contracts elsewhere, sources mentioned final week. This signaled that Chevron doesn’t anticipate to load all of the cargoes it sometimes ships from Venezuela even when it will definitely finds a approach to resolve the disagreement with PDVSA.

In March, President Donald Trump’s administration revoked a license issued in 2022 by the U.S. Treasury Division for Chevron to function in Venezuela. The Might deadline was granted to wind down operations and oil exports.

The identical deadline was granted to different companions of PDVSA, together with Eni, Repsol, Maurel & Promenade and Reliance Industries, to wind down oil cargoes certain for Europe and Asia.

Tankers chartered by buying and selling home Vitol have been loading and discharging usually at Venezuelan ports, in line with the info and paperwork, whereas vessels chartered by Reliance Industries for India supply and Maurel & Promenade for Europe departed on schedule final week, forward of the Might 27 deadline to wind down cargoes and operations.

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Modifying by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)