Tankers carrying as much as 7 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy
crude are sitting in the Gulf of Mexico awaiting some semblance of
clarity on how the situation in the South American country will develop
after the latest round of sanctions imposed on Caracas by Washington and
targeting specifically state oil company PDVSA.
Reuters cites
shipping data and industry sources as saying some tankers are being put
on hold because their cargoes were bought before the sanctions were
imposed while others were idling in the ocean because buyers were not
sure who they were supposed to pay for the deliveries.
The latter
problem, Reuters reports, concerns an aspect of sanctions that bans U.S.
buyers of Venezuelan crude to pay for the commodity directly to PDVSA
accounts. They are to pay for it by transferring the money to escrow
accounts, which have not yet been set up.
These
accounts will be controlled by Venezuelan opposition leader Juan
Guaido, who declared himself interim president last month, as required
by Venezuelan constitution in case of problematic election results that
necessitate a repeat of the vote, which Guaido is calling for. The U.S.
along with several South American countries and a handful of European
states have thrown their support behind Guaido and insisted that elected
president Maduro call new elections and ensure their transparency.
Yet
some are seeing an opportunity, according to Reuters’ sources. Some of
the tankers floating in Venezuelan waters and elsewhere in the Gulf are
being used as floating storage by traders quick to take advantage of
PDVSA offering crude on the open market before the sanctions kicked in.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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