Venezuela
News
March 19, 2021
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro is keen to enlist American and European oil companies to help bring an end to U.S. sanctions – and with investment opportunities in the world’s largest oil and gas reserves as leverage, his plan appears to be working.
News
March 02, 2021
In mid-January the U.S. blacklisted Maltese trading company Elemento Limited and Geneva-based Swissoil Trading SA for facilitating Maduro’s attempts to circumvent U.S. sanctions.
News
January 28, 2021
High on the agenda for the U.S. and Indian oil companies: reinstating transactions known as oil swaps that would allow companies to receive Venezuelan crude in exchange for supplying diesel fuel.
News
January 25, 2021
The cat-and-mouse games that avoid detection and sanctions include ship-to-ship transfers, shell companies and silenced satellite signals. But there’s another aspect to the dodge. It involves “doping” the oil with chemical additives and changing its name in the paperwork so it can be sold as a wholly different crude without a trace of its Venezuelan roots.
News
January 14, 2021
The island nation of Palau says a tanker that recently loaded Venezuelan crude was using a false signal to disguise its identity, potentially putting the Pacific country in the crosshairs of U.S. sanctions.
News
January 05, 2021
Since taking over for Hugo Chavez in 2013, Nicolas Maduro has resisted efforts to force him out, presiding over a precipitous deterioration of the oil-rich country.
News
January 01, 2021
Venezuela has managed to defy sweeping U.S. sanctions against state-owned producer PDVSA and keep shipping some crude abroad, mainly to China. But Washington has intensified the crackdown on companies that break the restrictions, and PDVSA has struggled to sell its barrels in Asia.
News
December 18, 2020
The Biden administration signaled an intent to push for free and fair elections in Venezuela, offering sanctions relief in return. Maduro’s foreign backers, including Russia, China and Iran, are expected to play a role, as will Cuba, which is keen to improve relations with the U.S.
News
December 01, 2020
While PDVSA’s internal documents show vessels like Vinland, Pacific Cape and Vision loading at the port of Jose, these vessels are not operational. Data show that they were sent to the scrapyard months prior to the scheduled loading dates in Venezuela.
News
October 23, 2020
Venezuelan crude inventories have surged 84% over the last three weeks as the threat of U.S. sanctions ward away buyers of the nation’s most important commodity.
News
September 28, 2020
The first vessel in an Iranian convoy of ships bringing desperately needed fuel arrived in Venezuela, demonstrating both nations’ determination to undermine U.S. efforts to isolate the governments in Tehran and Caracas.
News
September 23, 2020
Venezuela, owner of the world’s largest oil reserves, has been struggling to find ships willing to risk sanctions after the Trump administration announced sanctions on six vessels and its shipowners for transporting its crude.
News
September 14, 2020
The ship, identified as Honey, turned off its satellite signal and started unloading about 2 million barrels of South Pars condensate at Venezuela’s state-controlled port of Jose on Saturday, according to a report and a person with knowledge of the situation.
News
December 06, 2019
A subsidiary of Rosneft has taken over some contract discussions with local service providers in Venezuela, stepping in for PDVSA on joint projects with the state-owned oil company, according to people familiar with the matter.
News
November 14, 2019
The practice of oil tankers turning off their location signals has increased in the past month, according to shipping data, after the U.S. went after a Chinese-owned shipping company it said was moving crude for sanctioned Iran.
News
November 12, 2019
Repsol SA is looking as far away as Western Canada for oil for its European refineries amid dwindling supplies from Mexico and Venezuela.
News
October 22, 2019
The Trump administration extended Chevron’s waiver to operate in Venezuela, allowing the second-largest U.S. oil explorer to keep its toehold in the crisis-stricken Latin American nation as U.S. sanctions severely restrict crude exports.
News
October 18, 2019
The Trump administration is considering an extension of Chevron’s waiver to operate in Venezuela, albeit with even greater limitations, according to people familiar with the matter.
News
October 10, 2019
Brazil’s efforts to uncover the origin of oil washing up on more than 130 beaches along its pristine northeastern coastline are pointing to Venezuela as the likely culprit.
News
September 13, 2019
Exports of sanction-hit Venezuelan oil now face a new concern: a shortage of vessels willing to transport crude produced by the regime of President Nicolas Maduro.
News
September 06, 2019
A Chinese oil contractor halted work on an expansion project in Venezuela because it hasn’t been paid, underscoring the difficulties for the Nicolas Maduro regime even at energy ventures backed by allies.
