Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA is facing wider crude discounts, stuck cargoes, and growing pressure from buyers to rewrite trading terms after the United States seized a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, traders and sources told Reuters.
The seizure of the very large crude carrier Skipper near Venezuela’s coast last week marked Washington’s first interception of a tanker transporting Venezuelan crude. The move came alongside new U.S. sanctions on six vessels and their associated companies, tightening the screws on President Nicolas Maduro’s main source of revenue.
Even before the seizure, PDVSA was struggling to place barrels at close to contract prices as a flood of sanctioned crude from Venezuela, Russia, and Iran crowded its primary market in China. Since the U.S. action, the situation has deteriorated. Discounts for Venezuela’s flagship Merey heavy crude shipped to China have widened to as much as $21 per barrel below Brent, up from around $14–$15 just a week earlier, according to traders and company sources.
Much of the additional discount reflects higher shipping costs. Vessel owners are demanding expanded “war clauses” to cover the risk of interception, delays, or forced diversions tied to the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean. That risk premium is now being passed directly back to PDVSA through lower prices.
Buyers are pressing PDVSA to loosen trading terms. Several customers want the company to drop its requirement that cargoes be prepaid in digital currency before loading, according to the sources. Others are asking PDVSA to cover demurrage costs as tankers sit offshore waiting for clearance or further price cuts. If the terms stay unchanged, one source said, PDVSA could start seeing requests to return cargoes.
China has absorbed between 55% and 90% of Venezuela’s monthly exports this year, according to ship-tracking data, leaving PDVSA with little leverage as alternative discounted supplies remain plentiful. More than 11 million barrels of Venezuelan crude are currently stuck on vessels near the country’s ports, sources said.
Chevron remains the only firm exporting Venezuelan crude without delays, sources said. Other shippers have been operating with transponders turned off. PDVSA also suspended some deliveries this week after a cyberattack disrupted its administrative systems.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
