Venezuela resumes oil shipments amid threat of US naval blockade
Kyiv • UNN
Oil company PDVSA has resumed loading crude oil and fuel after a three-day pause caused by a cyberattack. Fuel exports remain blocked due to Washington's strict policies and fears of asset seizure. Crude exports have sharply fallen compared to 900,000 barrels per day in November.
Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has resumed loading crude oil and fuel after a three-day pause caused by a cyberattack. Despite the technical restoration of terminal operations, fuel exports remain effectively blocked due to Washington's strict policy. This is reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
Raw material export figures have sharply fallen compared to November's 900,000 barrels per day. The situation escalated after the US seized a sanctioned vessel off the country's coast a week ago. Currently, operators of loaded tankers prefer to remain in Venezuelan waters, fearing the arrest of property on its way to China – the main consumer of local oil.
Tensions escalated after US President Donald Trump announced a complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers heading to or from Venezuelan ports. It is currently unknown how many vessels will dare to enter international waters given the presence of American military forces in the region.
Recall
Trump ordered a "full and final" blockade of all sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers. Caracas condemned the move as an open act of aggression.
On December 17, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed her readiness to mediate negotiations between the US and Venezuela to prevent a large-scale regional conflict.