On Tuesday, an oil tanker operated by Venezuelan state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) approached the 1.3 million barrels-Nabarima floating oil facility amid spill concerns, likely to receive crude via transfer at sea.
Previously on Monday, a source familiar with the matter said that PDVSA is planning to offload some crude on the facility via a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer involving an Aframax vessel.
According to Refinitiv Eikon data, the Icaro approached the idled facility at 02.37 PM local time (18.37 GMT). other than that, The Venezuela-flagged barge Inmaculada was also estimated to participate in the STS operation.
In the past two weeks, concerns arise regarding a potential spill of crude abroad Nabarima as images showed the vessel tilting to its side. Neighboring Trinidad and Tobago have announced its plan to inspect the vessel.
Nabarima is located in the Paria Gulf, separating Venezuela from Trinidad and Tobago. It has suspended output shortly after the US sanctioned PDVSA in January 2019. On a related note, in December 2019, the Icaro vessel was also sanctioned for delivering Venezuelan petroleum products to Cuba.
