US Spending $7 Million a Year to Maintain Yacht Seized from Russian Oligarch
The U.S. government said it is spending more than $7 million a year to maintain a superyacht it seized from a sanctioned Russian oligarch, and urged a judge to let it auction the vessel before a dispute over its ownership is resolved.Authorities in Fiji seized the 348-foot (106-meter), $300 million Amadea in May 2022, pursuant to a U.S. warrant alleging it was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a multibillionaire sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2014 and 2018 in response to Russia's activities in Syria and Ukraine.Efforts to auction the yacht are being challenged by Eduard Khudainatov…
Russian Oligarch Vekselberg's Superyacht Seized in Spain
Spanish police on Monday impounded a superyacht belonging to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg on behalf of U.S. authorities, the first time the United States has seized property belonging to a Russian oligarch since its invasion of Ukraine in February.Valued at more than 90 million euros ($99 million), the 78-metre-long "Tango" (255 ft) was seized in a shipyard on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, the Guardia Civil police and the U.S. Justice Department said in parallel…
Tanker Bottleneck Emerges in Venezuela as Crude Stocks Run Low
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…
Mexican Yard Services US-sanctioned Tankers that Carry Venezuelan Oil
Three Cuban-flagged tankers that are under U.S. sanctions for transporting Venezuelan oil to the Communist-run island have been serviced in the port of Veracruz on Mexico's Gulf coast, according to vessel tracking data and industry sources.The maintenance work on the vessels—one of which was serviced as recently as this month—is a potential breach of sanctions on Venezuela, two lawyers who specialize in U.S. sanctions said.However, the United States has in the past not brought enforcement actions against shipyards for doing work on blacklisted vessels from those countries, according to U.S. Treasury Department data.Under U.S. law, companies and individuals are prohibited from materially assisting sanctioned entities.
Perfect Trips: Venezuela Ships Jet Fuel to Iran in Exchange for Gasoline
Venezuela is shipping jet fuel to Iran in return for vital gasoline imports for the South American nation as part of a swap deal agreed by the two state-run oil firms, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.Iran has ramped up assistance to Venezuela since last year as the United States tightened sanctions on both countries, hitting oil exports by state-run firms Petroleos de Venezuela and National Iranian oil Company (NIOC).Iran has sent flotillas of state-operated tankers carrying gasoline and feedstock for motor fuel to Venezuela, as well as equipment and spare parts to help the once-prosperous OPEC nation restart its…
Tanker Captain Buried in Colombia, But His Widow Can't Prove His Death in Venezuela
A year after a Colombian oil tanker captain was murdered by Venezuela’s military, his widow says she still cannot claim his pension to support their two sons as the Venezuelan government refuses to authenticate his death certificate.Jaime Herrera, 59, was shot dead on board the tanker in February 2020 by officers tasked with guarding his crew, according to a Reuters investigation published last year that highlighted his death as an example of Venezuela's lawlessness.Now, Herrera’s widow, Claudia Fortich, says the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Colombia has left her in a desperate limbo without the legal right to access his savings.
PDVSA Eyeing Export Options for Crude Oil from Nabarima FSO
Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has begun marketing about 570,000 barrels of Corocoro medium crude recently offloaded from a floating facility that was listing last year, two sources with knowledge of the offer said on Friday.Crude onboard the Floating Storage and Offloading facility (FSO) Nabarima, operated by a joint venture between PDVSA and Italy's Eni, started to be transferred to a tanker late last year amid environmental concerns from neighboring countries over a potential spill.About 1.3 million barrels of oil had remained stored at the FSO since early 2019…
Iranian Ship Arrives at Venezuelan Port
An Iranian ship arrived at the Venezuelan port of La Guaira on Thursday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, in what appeared to be a continuation of the commercial alliance between the two countries targeted by U.S. sanctions.Iran has been supplying gasoline to ease fuel shortages in Venezuela caused by decay of the South American nation's refineries and worsened by sanctions. It has also shipped food to help the government of President Nicolas Maduro.The Iranian-flagged general cargo ship Golsan, owned by Mosakhar Darya Shipping Co, left Iran in late November, according to Eikon data.It was not immediately evident what cargo it was carrying.Venezuela's information ministry did not reply to a request for comment.
UAE Emerges as Hub for Companies Helping Venezuela Avoid US Oil Sanctions
In June, the United States imposed sanctions on half a dozen oil tankers managed by established shipping firms. It was a major escalation of American attempts to choke off Venezuela’s oil trade.Within weeks, a little-known company based in the United Arab Emirates took over management of several tankers that had been shipping Venezuelan oil. The vessels got new names. And then they resumed transporting Venezuelan crude.The company, Muhit Maritime FZE, is one of three UAE-based entities identified by Reuters that have shipped Venezuelan crude and fuel during the second half of this year. Their role emerges from an examination of internal shipping documents from Venezuela’s state oil company as well as third-party shipping and vessel tracking data.
Venezuela: PDVSA Starts Oil Transfer from Troubled Offshore Facility to Barge
Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela has begun transferring crude off of an offshore oil facility where governments in two neighboring countries have voiced concerns about a potential spill, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.The company this week began the first of several transfers from the Nabarima floating storage and offloading facility (FSO), anchored in the Corocoro oilfield off Venezuela's eastern coast, onto the Inmaculada barge, said the people…
Report: Venezuela Resumes Oil Shipments to China Despite U.S. Sanctions
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…
Slew of Tankers Sail Toward Venezuela, Suggesting Oil Export Rebound
At least 18 oil tankers are expected to load oil for export from Venezuela in the coming weeks, according to tracking data and internal documents from state-run PDVSA, in a sign the sanctioned OPEC nation's crude exports may rebound this month.Venezuela's oil exports fell to their lowest levels since the 1940s in October, as some of Petroleos de Venezuela's last remaining clients halted trade with the company ahead of a deadline imposed by the United States.Washington sanctioned PDVSA and its partners last year to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down.But Maduro remains in power, and the potential rebound in oil shipments comes as PDVSA is adapting to a tightening of U.S.
Phantom Buyers in Russia, Advice from Iran Help Venezuela Skirt Sanctions
On Aug. 21, a tanker called the Otoman docked at the Jose oil terminal on Venezuela’s coast in the Caribbean to load 1.82 million barrels of heavy crude, according to the state oil company’s internal documents.Yet no tanker with that name is registered in major global shipping databases.Muddying the situation further, the unique identifier for the Otoman listed in the documents - a number used by the International Maritime Organization to identify ships - was assigned to another tanker called the Rubyni, according to the databases.The Rubyni was broken up two years ago, they record. Satellite images provided by TankerTrackers.com, an independent vessel tracking service…
Fire-stricken Venezuelan Oil Tanker Undergoes Repairs in Cuba
An oil tanker owned by Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela's maritime division is undergoing repairs in Cuba after suffering a fire while discharging last week, four people familiar with the matter said this week.The Aframax-sized vessel Teseo had set sail from Venezuela's Cardon port with about 500,000 barrels of fuel oil for power generation on October 20, destined for Cuba's Felton port, according to an internal PDVSA document and Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking data.The fire started in the Panama-flagged tanker's engine room and was attributable to lack of proper maintenance by cash-strapped PDVSA, two of the people said.
U.S. Tells Eni Repairs to Venezuela Floating Oil Facility Not Barred by Sanctions
The United States has assured Italian oil company Eni SpA that efforts to prevent a spill at a floating crude facility in Venezuela would not run afoul of sanctions, the company, and the U.S. State Department said on Monday.Images in recent months showing the Nabarima floating storage and offloading facility (FSO), part of the Petrosucre joint venture between Eni and Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, tilting to its side have raised concerns of a potential environmental…
US Issues Fresh Sanctions Targeting Iran's Oil Sector
The United States on Monday imposed fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic's oil sector, including the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum, in Washington's latest move to increase pressure on Tehran.The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it was slapping sanctions on key actors in Iran's oil sector for supporting the Quds Force, the elite foreign paramilitary and espionage arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."The regime in Iran uses the petroleum sector to fund the destabilizing activities of the IRGC-QF…
FSO Nabarima Is 'Upright' but Crude Transfer Could Be Risky
A Venezuelan floating oil facility that had been listing in recent weeks is upright and shows no sign of sinking, but plans to offload crude from the vessel posed some risks, the energy minister of neighboring Trinidad and Tobago said on Thursday.A team of experts from Trinidad inspected the Nabarima facility on Tuesday and found there was “absolutely no tilt” and that the vessel was “totally horizontal,” Energy Minister Franklyn Khan told reporters.“There is no imminent risk of tilting or sinking…
Tanker Approaches Listing FSO Nabarima to Load Crude
An oil tanker operated by Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela on Tuesday approached a floating oil facility where it is expected to receive crude via transfer at sea amid environmental concerns, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.Environmental groups have in the past two weeks expressed concern about a potential spill of the 1.3 million barrels of crude aboard the Nabarima oil facility - part of the Petrosucre joint venture between PDVSA and Italy's Eni SpA - after images…
PDVSA Plans to Offload Oil from Tilting FSO Offshore Venezuela
Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) plans to offload crude from the Nabarima floating oil facility via ship-to-ship (STS) transfer amid environmental concerns, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday.The Nabarima, part of PDVSA’s Petrosucre joint venture with Italy’s Eni SpA in the Paria Gulf off Venezuela’s eastern coast, is laden with 1.3 million barrels of crude.Images last week showed it tilting on its side, raising worries about a possible oil spill.
Iranian VLCC Leaves Venezuela Loaded with Crude
An Iranian-flagged oil tanker left Venezuela on Friday for Iran's Kharg Island, Refinitiv Eikon data showed, after the vessel loaded 1.9 million barrels of heavy crude at the South American country's Jose oil terminal.The shipment marks the latest example of cooperation between the two OPEC nations this year as they step up commercial ties to try to rescue their respective oil industries, both of which are under intense pressure from U.S. sanctions.The very-large crude carrier (VLCC), registered in shipping databases under the name Horse, discharged 2.1 million barrels of Iranian condensate to be used as diluent for Venezuela's extra-heavy oil production in September.It then loaded Merey heavy crude…
Third Iranian Tanker Docks at Venezuelan Port
The final tanker in a flotilla of three Iranian fuel tankers docked at eastern Venezuela's Guaraguao port on Sunday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and a person familiar with the matter, as President Nicolas Maduro promised to normalize fuel supply in the gasoline-starved country.The three tankers, which began arriving last week, brought some 820,000 barrels of fuel to the South American country, where severe shortages of gasoline—as well as unreliable power, water and cooking gas supplies—have led to a wave of protests in the neglected interior in recent weeks.The shortages come as state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela's once-formidable 1.3 million barrel per day (bpd) refining network has all but collapsed…
PDVSA to Install Ship-to-ship Hub Away from Shore
Venezuela's state-run oil firm PDVSA is informing customers about a new hub for doing ship-to-ship transfers for exports in a location away from shore, a shift that could mean higher costs and less supervision, according to three sources.More than two-thirds of Venezuela's oil exports leave from the Jose terminal on the country's eastern coast, a large and heavily supervised facility with two monobuoys for exports and connected through pipelines to several crude upgraders.But with U.S.
US, Guyana to Launch Joint Maritime Patrols Near Venezuela
The United States and Guyana will begin joint maritime patrols aimed at drug interdiction near the South American country’s disputed border with crisis-stricken Venezuela, the U.S. secretary of state and Guyana’s new president said on Friday.The agreement comes as U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, as part of a consortium with Hess Corp and China’s CNOOC Ltd, ramps up crude output from Guyana’s massive offshore Stabroek block, a large portion of which is in waters claimed by Venezuela.“Greater security…
