(Bloomberg) — Chevron Corp., the sole Western supermajor permitted to pump Venezuelan oil, is loading tankers at the fastest pace in seven months as the US government moves to control the Latin American nation’s crude riches.
Chevron loaded 1.68 million barrels of Venezuelan oil onto ships during the first week of this month, the most for that period since May, according to vessel movements tracked by Bloomberg. The amount pumped aboard vessels was almost five times the volume of the same week in December.
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Those cargoes are mainly bound for US refiner Phillips 66, with the remaining earmarked for Valero Energy Corp and Chevron’s Pascagoula fuel-making plant on the Mississippi coast, according to the data and a person with knowledge of the situation.
Chevron’s accelerated tanker loadings come as Venezuelan crude-storage facilities near full capacity. More and more of the nation’s oil has been stowed in tank farms after the US last month stepped up efforts to impede the former regime of Nicolas Maduro from selling oil abroad to raise cash. Maduro was ousted by US forces in a Jan. 3 raid.
The US this week pledged to take control of Venezuelan oil sales, including an initial tranche of as many as 50 million barrels. Commodity traders and banks have been tapped to help with the effort; proceeds are to be deposited into US-controlled bank accounts for the benefit of both Venezuela and the US, according to a fact sheet published Wednesday. The US also is easing some sanctions to allow the execution of the plan.
Phillips 66 is set to receive a batch of 1 million barrels from the Chevron shipments at its Sweeny refinery in Texas, while Chevron and Valero are each set to receive 340,000 barrels of Boscan oil, a grade favored for asphalt production.
Chevron declined to comment on commercial matters. Phillips 66 didn’t have an immediate comment and Valero didn’t immediately return a message seeking a comment.
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