A George Economou-controlled VLCC has reportedly been chartered by commodities giant Vitol to lift a cargo of Venezuelan crude.
The TMS Tankers-owned, 299,995-dwt Gustavia S (built 2020) has been booked for $11m for a voyage to China, reported Bloomberg.
Last month, the US lifted sanctions on Venezuela’s oil exports for six months following a deal between the government and opposition parties for an internationally monitored election to be held next year.
French shipbroker BRS says that since the easing of sanctions on 18 October 2023, exports from Venezuela have risen by around 150,000 barrels per day.
UK weekly newspaper The Economist recently reported that PetroChina, China’s second-largest state oil company, was already close to agreeing a contract to buy 265,000 bpd of Venezuelan crude.
For many years, India and China had been the largest customers of Venezuelan crude oil, according to US shipbroker Poten & Partners.
When former US president Trump tightened sanctions in 2020, India stopped importing Venezuelan crude in September of that year and China became the dominant buyer.
Since then, China has bought about two thirds of all Venezuelan exports, with the crude shipped on a combination of dedicated Chinese tankers and on vessels in the dark fleet.
Energy companies have wasted little time in looking to rekindle relationships with Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company PDVSA.
PDVSA has more than 40 oil partnerships with foreign and local companies, some of whom have suspended activity due to the difficult business climate.
Last week, French drilling company Maurel & Prom signed a contract with PDVSA to increase oil and gas production in Lake Maracaibo, according to a statement from the company.
The deal, which is said to be the first of its kind for a European energy company in Venezuela, also sets conditions to repay $914m in outstanding debt owed to Maurel & Prom’s local subsidiary, according to the statement.
So far, Chevron Corp has been the only foreign company that has been granted similar operational benefits, according to Bloomberg. Italy’s Eni SpA and Spain’s Repsol SA are still said to be in negotiations for similar contracts.
Separately, Swedish oil firm Maha Energy signed a deal just days after the US sanctions were lifted to gain rights to a stake in the Petrourdaneta project, which operates three fields in the Maracaibo Basin region in north-western Venezuela.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world comprising more than 300bn barrels, equaling 17.5% of the world’s entire reserves.
