Jose Port News

A bottleneck of vessels waiting to load crude and fuel in Venezuela has increased in recent weeks as state-run oil firm PDVSA struggles to deliver cargoes on time, according to people familiar with the matter, documents and shipping data.PDVSA has sought to ramp up shipments this month, the documents and data showed, following setbacks in January as outages at Venezuela's main port hit its exports. But the increase has been insufficient to ease the congestion.As of Monday, at least 19 supertankers were waiting to load near Venezuela's Jose and Amuay ports…

An oil tanker runs aground off eastern China, leaking fuel into the water. Another is caught in a collision near Cuba. A third is seized in Spain for drifting out of control.These vessels were part of a "shadow" fleet of tankers carrying oil last year from countries hit by Western sanctions, according to a Reuters analysis of ship tracking and accident data and interviews with more than a dozen industry specialists.Hundreds of extra ships have joined this opaque parallel trade…

The new head of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has suspended most oil export contracts while his team reviews them in a move to avoid payment defaults, according to an internal document seen by Reuters and people familiar with the matter.Since U.S. trading sanctions were first imposed on PDVSA in 2019, the company has increasingly resorted to little known middlemen to allocate its oil exports, leading to big price discounts and problems with payments affecting its cashflow.The freeze order is leading to port delays…

A shipping channel snafu is slowing Chevron Corp’s efforts to load tankers at one of its four Venezuelan joint ventures and bring heavy crude to the United States, three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.Washington in November authorized the last major U.S. firm still operating in Venezuela to restore lost output and begin exporting oil as a way to encourage talks between Nicolas Maduro’s government and the country’s political opposition.But a plan to move heavy…

U.S. oil producer Chevron Corp plans to export this month its first cargo of Venezuelan crude to its Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery following a U.S. license granted last year, according to shipping documents seen by Reuters on Tuesday.The 500,000-barrel cargo of Hamaca heavy crude, to be loaded at state-run PDVSA's Jose port, comes from the Petropiar oil joint venture operated by both companies.As of Tuesday, the tanker scheduled to carry the shipment, the Bahamas-flagged Caribbean Voyager…

China has entrusted a defense-focussed state firm to ship millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil despite U.S. sanctions, part of a deal to offset Caracas' billions of dollars of debt to Beijing, according to three sources and tanker tracking data. China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) stopped carrying Venezuelan oil in August 2019 after Washington tightened sanctions on the South American exporter. But it continued to find its way to China via traders who rebranded the fuel as Malaysian, Reuters has reported.

Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA diverted two crude cargoes set to discharge at Cuba's Matanzas terminal, Refinitiv Eikon data and company documents showed on Tuesday, as a fire that devastated 40% of the island's main storage facility continued for a fifth day.Lightning on Friday set one crude storage tank at the 2.4-million-barrel facility ablaze, later spreading to three others, resulting in massive power outages.As most of Venezuela's oil shipments to Cuba typically go to…

Venezuela's oil exports last month fell to the lowest level since October 2020 as repairs at the country's main oil port added to delays shipping cargoes, documents from state-run PDVSA and vessel tracking data showed.Exports from the U.S.-sanctioned country were recovering this year following a pact with Iran that provided a stable supply of diluents needed for producing exportable grades and lighter crudes for making refined products.But shipping delays linked to oil quality issues…

Venezuela's oil exports fell 8% in April from the previous month amid continued delays linked to poor-quality crude grades and insufficient oil upgrading capacity available, according to documents and vessel monitoring data on Thursday.U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela recovered a portion of lost production last year, but crude shipments have been volatile, bouncing some 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the space of a few months as its ability to turn its extra-heavy oil into exportable grades has waxed and waned.State-run oil firm PDVSA and its joint ventures exported an average of 644…

A 2.1 million barrel cargo of Iranian condensate arrived in Venezuela's waters this week, vessel tracking data and a company document showed, ferrying supplies to state-run oil firm PDVSA to dilute its extra heavy oil for export.U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela and Iran last year agreed to a contract for exchanging Iranian condensate, a very light form of oil, for Venezuelan heavy crude. The trade has proven key to sustaining PDVSA's production and expanding its exports.The Iranian-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) Dan, operated by state-owned National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), entered Venezuelan Jose port's anchorage on Tuesday…

An Iranian supertanker carrying about 2 million barrels of condensate this week began discharging at Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA's main oil port, according to a company document and tanker tracking services.PDVSA and state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in the second half of last year started a swap deal to exchange Iranian condensate for PDVSA's heavy crude. The pact has proven to be key for sustaining Venezuela's oil output, which needs diluents including condensate for transportation and exports.Last year, the two state companies that are under U.S. sanctions exchanged some 4.82 million barrels of condensate for 5.55 million barrels of heavy crude, mostly transported in Iran-flagged vessels.

Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA this week will resume exports of diluted crude oil (DCO) for the first time in nine months, according to a document seen by Reuters.Since U.S. trade sanctions were imposed on PDVSA in 2019, a lack of diluents, especially heavy naphtha, has hurt its ability to produce exportable grades from its largest production region, the Orinoco Belt. Its extra heavy oil must be diluted with naphtha or condensate for transportation and exports.A key swap…

Venezuela's state-run PDVSA began discharging 620,000 barrels of imported condensate crude oil at the nation's largest oil port this week in an effort to boost blending operations, according to two company documents, sources and vessel tracking data.Venezuela had not imported condensate since September when it received a 2.1 million-barrel cargo from Iran, a political and commercial ally of President Nicolas Maduro that since 2020 has also supplied the South American nation with fuel.PDVSA this year doubled down on efforts to boost blending and upgrading of crudes from the OPEC member country's largest producing region, the Orinoco belt…

More than a dozen large tankers were waiting on Wednesday at Venezuela's main oil port and nearby anchorage zones for state-run PDVSA to assign them slots to load crude, as an outage and low inventories caused delays, according to documents and sources.Venezuela's crude output declined in April to 445,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to secondary sources consulted by OPEC, down 81,000 bpd from March levels. The drop was mainly due to a lack of diluents to produce exportable grades from the country's largest oil region…

Venezuela has resumed direct shipments of oil to China after U.S. sanctions sent the trade underground for more than a year, according to Refinitiv Eikon vessel-tracking data and internal documents from state company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).Chinese state companies China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and PetroChina - long among PDVSA's top customers - stopped loading crude and fuel at Venezuelan ports in August 2019 after Washington extended its sanctions on PDVSA to include any companies trading with the Venezuelan state firm.The imposition of the sanctions was part of a push by the Trump administration to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro…

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA this week began using a new location near La Borracha island in the Caribbean sea for transferring Venezuelan crude from one ship to another for exports, according to tanker tracking data seen by Reuters.PDVSA, whose exports have been hit by U.S. sanctions, in late 2018 tested the spot near La Borracha, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) off the coastal city of Puerto la Cruz, but it had not used it until now, according to shipping sources.In recent weeks…

At least two cargoes of Venezuelan crude have been delayed due to health inspections aboard tankers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to an internal document from state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela seen by Reuters.The delays add to a growing glut of tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude that preceded the coronavirus crisis as U.S. sanctions spooked potential customers. With domestic onshore oil inventories approaching capacity, PDVSA has been increasingly forced to send barrels onto floating storage.The largest shipment affected by the health measures is the Delta Angelica tanker, which was originally scheduled to depart Venezuela's Jose terminal between March 19-21 with 1.9 million barrels of heavy Merey crude bound for India's Reliance Industries…

The first of a group of three tankers carrying Iranian fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela entered the waters of the South American nation on Monday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, in the most recent sign of the countries' expanding trade.The two OPEC members have increased cooperation this year by exchanging crude, fuel, food, equipment for refineries and other industrial goods. Many details about the transactions are not available, however.The Iran-flagged tanker Forest, transporting some 270,000 barrels of fuel loaded in the Middle East, entered Venezuela's exclusive economic zone around 8:05 a.m. local time (1205 GMT) without any disturbances…

Shipping operations at one of three docks of Venezuela's main crude exporting port have "recovered" after a "minor" oil spill occurred over the weekend, state oil company PDVSA said on Wednesday, without saying how big the spill was. A spill occurred while loading a vessel bound for India at Jose port's eastern dock, union and shipping sources told Reuters on Tuesday, and also affected other tankers close to the very large crude carrier (VLCC) Nave Quasar, chartered by India's Reliance Industries. PDVSA confirmed the spill on Wednesday and said the situation was under control. "Expert oil industry workers activated a contingency plan over the weekend after a minor incident occurred in the maritime terminal, where an oil spill happened during loading operations," PDVSA said in a statement.

Venezuela's state-run PDVSA oil firm has been unable to resume exports at Jose port, the nation's primary crude-export terminal, following last week's widespread power outage, according to people familiar with the matter.PDVSA has launched a contingency plan to try and restore power, according to one of the people. The country's crude upgraders, which convert up to 700,000 barrels per day of Orinoco Belt heavy oil into exportable grades, also are operating at minimum levels due to the lack of power, the people said. (Reuters, Reporting by Deisy Buitrago, Mircely Guanipa and Marianna Parraga Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

The closing of a dock at Venezuela's main oil export port could delay as much as 5 million barrels in crude deliveries to Russian state-oil firm Rosneft, a source said on Wednesday and documents showed.A tanker collision at the weekend forced PDVSA to halt operations at Jose port's South dock, curtailing planned shipments mainly for Rosneft, and for U.S. firms Valero Energy and Chevron Corp until damages can be repaired.Reporting by Marianna Parraga

Venezuela's state-run PDVSA is organizing a contingency plan to address its latest oil-export problem following a minor accident last week at the country's main crude terminal, two sources from the firm told Reuters on Friday.A tanker collision that damaged Jose port's South dock and forced its closure has added to delays in loading crude for export, especially to customers such as Russia's Rosneft and U.S.-based Valero Energy Corp and Chevron Corp.Oil tankers that were assigned…

OPEC member Venezuela has raised the prospect of declaring force majeure on contracts with major crude buyers amid plummeting output from its oil fields and tanker bottlenecks at ports, according to three sources familiar with the matter.Falling production from Venezuela has contributed to a rally in global oil prices to a near four-year high, and other OPEC members may boost output at a meeting later this month to compensate for the shortfall and other risks to global supplies.Oil is the financial lifeline for the embattled socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro…