Armada of Tankers with Venezuelan Oil Forms in U.S. Gulf

[thackney]

Armada of Tankers with Venezuelan Oil Forms in U.S. Gulf
https://gcaptain.com/armada-of-tankers-with-venezuelan-oil-forms-in-u-s-gulf/
February 4, 2019

A flotilla loaded with about 7 million barrels of Venezuelan oil has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, some holding cargoes bought ahead of the latest U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and others whose buyers are weighing who to pay, according to traders, shippers and Refinitiv Eikon data.

The Trump administration’s move to impose sanctions last week was meant to undercut support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by targeting the Latin American nation’s oil exports to the United States, the source of most of its foreign revenue.

The sanctions aim to block U.S. refiners from paying into PDVSA accounts controlled by Maduro – one reason numerous tankers are waiting in limbo off Venezuela with payments unclear. The United States buys 500,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude per day.

U.S. customers of Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA are required by sanctions to deposit payments into escrow accounts that have not yet been set up. The funds will be controlled by Venezuelan congress head Juan Guaido, whom the United States, the European Union and much of Latin America recognize as the country’s leader.

Neither the U.S. Treasury Department nor White House responded to requests for comment.

There were over a dozen tankers this week anchored in Gulf of Mexico or outside of Venezuelan waters, according to the Refinitiv Eikon data, as shippers await payment and delivery directions from buyers....

[catfish1957]

Armada of Tankers with Venezuelan Oil Forms in U.S. Gulf

Hope the list of boycott circumventers comes to light.  Akin to stabbing our country in the back if you ask me.

[thackney]

Hope the list of boycott circumventers comes to light.  Akin to stabbing our country in the back if you ask me.

Likely just PDVSA, other majors have announced they canceled future shipments.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/31/reuters-america-update-3-valero-beats-on-profit-has-stopped-buying-venezuela-crude.html

The San Antonio, Texas-based company, one of the largest buyers of Venezuelan crude in the United States, said it had stopped intake from the country after the U.S. slapped sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil firm PDVSA earlier this week. (https://reut.rs/2Gd1gMW)

[IsailedawayfromFR]

7 million bbls floating around the Gulf indefinitely sounds like an environmental nightmare waiting to happen.

Reminds me of the garbage ship that floated around years ago seeking a port of entry.

[The_Reader_David]

So long as no money goes to the Venezuelan Communists, why should the tankers be denied off-loading their cargo?  Since we recognize Guaido and the National Assembly as the legitimate government, surely we can see to it that any still-pending payment for the oil goes to them, rather than to Maduro.

[thackney]

So long as no money goes to the Venezuelan Communists, why should the tankers be denied off-loading their cargo?  Since we recognize Guaido and the National Assembly as the legitimate government, surely we can see to it that any still-pending payment for the oil goes to them, rather than to Maduro.

U.S. customers of Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA are required by sanctions to deposit payments into escrow accounts that have not yet been set up.

[catfish1957]

U.S. customers of Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA are required by sanctions to deposit payments into escrow accounts that have not yet been set up.

If Maduro survives, it is about time that US works to make Citgo become Citgone.