Terms of the deal with oil companies Eni and Repsol have not provided needed cash or fuel to PDVSA, whose own refineries are struggling to produce gasoline and diesel after years of underinvestment and lack of repairs, Reuters reported.
PDVSA has suspended new shipments of crude oil to Europe within the framework of an oil-for-debt agreement and has asked the Italian Eni and the Spanish Repsol to provide you with fuel in exchange for future cargoes, three people familiar with the matter said.
the state oil company PDVSA is no longer interested in oil-for-debt deals that the US State Department authorized last May, allowing the state-owned company to resume shipments to Europe after a two-year suspension caused by US sanctions.
Washington authorized the shipments as long as the proceeds from the shipments were used to pay off PDVSA’s accumulated debt with joint ventures with Eni and Repsol.
“PDVSA wants to go back to oil swaps, and that is not possible yet,” said a person involved in cargoes previously delivered to Europe. “There is zero interest in oil-for-debt deals,” the source added to the agency. Reuters.
Venezuelan oil shipments, particularly those sent to refineries in Spain, have helped Europe reduce purchases of Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine. But the terms of the deal have not provided PDVSA with the necessary cash or fuel.whose own refineries are struggling to produce gasoline and diesel after years of underinvestment and lack of repairs.
Petróleos de Venezuela, Eni, Repsol and the US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. stated the information.
5 million barrels stored
According to PDVSA shipping schedules, there are no loading windows assigned to Eni or Repsol for shipments destined for Europe in August, despite the fact that stocks of diluted crude oil (DCO) in the port of José increased to almost 5 million barrels until August 8.
PDVSA wants to get fuel in exchange for its crude, while also using a portion of the value of the shipments to offset billions of dollars in debt to joint venture partners such as Chevron, Eni and Repsol, according to the sources.
Restructuring the deal could help the Venezuelan company revive its Orinoco Belt extra-heavy oil operations, which require imported diluents such as heavy naphtha, and ease the country’s motor fuel deficit.
Since last year, PDVSA has relied mainly on Iranian diluents to convert its extra-heavy crude into exportable grades.
Since June, Eni received a total of 3.6 million barrels of diluted Venezuelan crude (DCO), according to PDVSA documents and tanker tracking data. Most of that volume was later delivered by Eni to Repsol, which has greater capacity to refine the South American country’s heavy sour crude grades.
Repsol’s CEO, Josu Jon Imaz, declared at the end of July that the return of shipments from Venezuela was “good news” for its refineries, since the quality of these crudes fits perfectly with its refining system.
The resumption of oil shipments to Europe helped PDVSA increase sales in June and July, with global exports reaching 545,000 barrels a day (b/d) in the 60-day period, according to the documents and monitoring of the ships.
*Also read: OPEC: Venezuela’s production closes July at its lowest level in 2022
Operational problems later offset the increase in exports. But PDVSA plans to restart a third heavy crude upgrader, in the Petromonagas joint venture, which would boost crude output and export capacity.
Last month, it resumed operations at an oil blending station and two upgraders that had been affected by power and gas outages.
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