Chevron continues to ship Venezuelan oil, but loading on hold for Chinese buyers, shipping data shows

By Marianna Parraga

Jan 6 (Reuters) – Venezuela was loading crude only for U.S. major Chevron on Tuesday, while operations by state-run oil firm PDVSA to load cargoes for its main customers in China remained on hold for a fifth day, shipping data showed.

U.S. forces captured President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday and took him to New York to face drug charges. Interim President Delcy Rodriguez is now running the government, which the U.S. has said it will oversee.

The United States imposed a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers sailing into and out of Venezuelan waters last month, which halted most exports other than those destined for Chevron.

Chevron is the only U.S. oil major operating in the country under a U.S. license that exempts it from sanctions imposed by Washington on Venezuela’s oil industry to choke off revenue that financed Maduro’s government.

On Tuesday, several vessels chartered by Chevron were the only ones loading crude for export at Venezuela’s Jose and Bajo Grande ports, ship monitoring data showed.

Other ships were loading either to move oil between domestic ports or to store crude because onshore storage was almost completely full, according to PDVSA’s internal documents.

The last crude cargo that was loaded for an Asian customer at Jose finished loading on January 1, according to the data and documents. Without more exports, PDVSA could be forced to deepen production cuts it began in recent days because storage tanks are full.

FLOWING

Chevron on Monday resumed exports of Venezuelan oil to the U.S. after a four-day pause and called workers abroad back to its Venezuelan offices as flights to the country restarted. The U.S. firm has emerged in recent weeks as the only company fluidly exporting Venezuela’s crude.

At least a dozen vessels under sanctions that had loaded in December and had been stuck in Venezuela’s waters due to the embargo sailed in early January. 

Those vessels were carrying around 12 million barrels of crude and fuel. It was unclear where the vessels were heading, although they were initially loaded for customers in China. The ships left in “dark mode,” which means that transponders that send out their location were switched off. The vessels appeared to break the U.S. tanker blockade.

The U.S. government has not commented on the vessels or whether it authorized the departures. PDVSA has not replied to a request for comment. Chevron said this week it continues to operate “in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.”

Even after the dozen vessels sailed, many tankers were still anchored near Venezuela’s oil ports either waiting to load or already loaded and stuck in Venezuelan waters, according to ship data and witnesses.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga and Reuters Staff; Editing by Julia Symmes-Cobb and Matthew Lewis)