Refiners and oil-producing firms in the U.S. and elsewhere are gaining market share in Venezuela's crude as they sign direct contracts with state-run PDVSA, challenging the global traders that inked earlier deals
Refiners and oil-producing firms in the U.S. and elsewhere are gaining market share in Venezuela's crude as they sign direct contracts with state-run PDVSA, challenging the global traders that inked earlier deals with the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez.
Trading houses Vitol and Trafigura currently control the lion's share of Venezuela's oil exports through agreements signed in January with Caracas that are overseen by Washington, allowing them to take more than 100 million barrels for resale to final buyers in six months.
PDVSA, however, is slowly going back to the business model it had before U.S. energy sanctions were imposed on the OPEC country in 2019, which prioritizes supply contracts with its joint-venture partners and refineries over intermediaries.
The model could secure better prices for PDVSA in longer sale deals, sources involved in the negotiations said.
U.S. refiner Phillips 66 in May began buying spot cargoes from PDVSA after a seven-year pause. In July, the company was allocated three cargoes of flagship Merey 16 heavy crude for delivery at the country's main oil port, Jose, shipping documents showed.
India's refiner Reliance Industries also began direct crude purchases from PDVSA in May, according to the documents, with those barrels now
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