Since the start of the year, around a dozen oil tankers have left Venezuela’s waters with crude and fuel, seemingly ignoring the U. S. blockade on exports. This blockade was established by former President Donald Trump in mid-December, before his forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Trump confirmed that the oil embargo remained effective regardless of Maduro’s capture and stated that Venezuela’s main oil buyers, like China, would continue receiving oil.
The shipments involve about 12 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude and fuel oil, negotiated with the state-run oil company PDVSA. It remains unclear where these vessels are headed, although previous cargoes were intended for Asia. The tankers had been stranded in Venezuela due to the U. S. blockade. All vessels are under U. S. sanctions, with many being supertankers transporting oil to China. A smaller group of ships also left after unloading imports, such as Russian naphtha used to dilute Venezuela’s heavy oil for export.
Some tankers left on Saturday using a route north of Margarita Island, operating in “dark mode” to avoid detection. In a separate development, U. S. oil company Chevron resumed exports of Venezuelan oil on Monday after a brief pause, shipping 300,000 barrels to the U. S. Gulf Coast. Chevron has U. S. authorization to export Venezuelan crude and is exempt from the embargo and sanctions.
Venezuelan oil exports serve as the primary source of government revenue. Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez, known for her ties to the private sector, is set to become the interim president. Trump indicated he might consider another military strike on Venezuela if there is no cooperation to open its oil industry and combat drug trafficking.
With information from Reuters
