Venezuela’s state-run oil firm PDVSA is taking over crude shipments once managed by Chevron as sanctions drama and payment disputes derail the fragile oil détente between Washington and Caracas.
PDVSA just shipped a 920,000-barrel cargo of heavy Boscan crude—previously exported exclusively by Chevron—out of Venezuela bound for Malaysia, a known trans-shipment point for crude ultimately headed to China. The cargo, produced by the Chevron-PDVSA joint venture Petroboscan, departed from the Amuay ship-to-ship area earlier this month, according to Reuters, citing maritime data and documents.
The pivot comes after PDVSA abruptly canceled Chevron’s scheduled May cargoes, citing the company’s alleged failure to pay. That’s despite the fact Chevron still holds a valid U.S. license until May 27. Two tankers were even ordered to return mid-transit. The result? Storage tanks at PDVSA’s western oilfields are now full, and the company is scrambling to secure floating storage as barrels stack up with nowhere to go.
April exports plunged nearly 20%, dropping to 700,000 bpd, the lowest in nine months. Venezuela had been slowly rebuilding export volume under relaxed U.S. sanctions—but the renewed crackdown, including a 25% secondary tariff on any country buying Venezuelan oil, has brought that momentum to a halt.
Meanwhile, the regional picture is getting even messier. Armed civilians from Venezuela reportedly attacked Guyanese troops along the Cuyuni River this week amid a territorial dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo region, home to ExxonMobil’s 11-billion-barrel Stabroek Block. Elections in the disputed territory are scheduled for May 25, despite a binding ICJ order against unilateral action.
Chevron, Eni, Repsol, and others are now lobbying the Trump administration to keep their Venezuela operations alive beyond May. But for now, PDVSA is muscling back into the driver’s seat—and where these barrels end up may depend more on politics than price.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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