In the first half of June, Venezuela’s oil exports have plunged nearly 28 percent as contracts for transporting crude oil suspended by tanker owners and operators.
After four vessels and their owners blacklisted by the US earlier this month for transporting Venezuela’s crude, shipping firms are avoiding the country. In the face of increasingly aggressive US efforts to isolate and oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro, several shippers have turned tankers away from Venezuela’s waters.
So far in June, seven cargoes of crude and fuel have been exported by State oil firm PDVSA and its partners in JVs to long-time customers including Spain’s Repsol, Italy’s Eni, and Cuba’s Cubametales. The amount is down from the 17-year low of 452,000 bpd last month.
Before sanctions, about 1.4 million bpd exported by Venezuela in early 2019. As of Monday, five other cargoes, scheduled to load this month, had been cancelled by PDVSA and vessel operators.
