Venezuelan army to keep PdV tankers on course
Venezuelan army troops have been deployed aboard 15 oil tankers owned by state-owned PdV to fend off mutinies and ensure that cargoes destined mainly for Cuba are delivered, according to officials from PdV, the defense ministry and the presidential palace.
The effective militarization of PdV's tankers reflects government concerns that dissident crew could thwart Venezuela's oil exports by sabotaging tankers or diverting cargoes, especially at a time of acute fuel shortages inside Venezuela. But the campaign could leave tankers vulnerable to search and seizure by warships patrolling the Caribbean, one expert warned.
Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro ordered the defense ministry to launch Operation Sovereign Petroleum that seizes vessel control from officers following a 1 May incident in which the PdV-owned Manuela Saenz tried to defy oil ministry instructions to deliver a diesel cargo to Cuba.
The captain of the Manuela Saenz and several crew members were immediately arrested by the government's intelligence agency Sebin and accused of treason. The arrested personnel have not yet been arraigned before a civilian court.
A defense ministry official said they could be prosecuted in military courts if they are formally indicted on treason charges.
The 15 tankers now under permanent army control include the Manuela Saenz, Icaro, Negra Hipolita, Eos, Luisa Caceres, Rio Orinoco, Rio Apure, Rio Caroni, Paramaconi, Proteo, Nereo, Zeus, Hero, Yare and Yavire. The Rio Arauca is also on the list, but the vessel is currently seized off the coast of Portugal.
The tankers include eight Lakemax tankers built for PdV in the 1990s by South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries to transport crude from Lake Maracaibo in Zulia state and Puerto La Cruz in Anzoátegui state to US clients.
Since US sanctions were imposed on PdV on 28 January, these tankers have been used to transport oil to Cuba, and for floating storage and cabotage in Venezuelan waters. In the past the tankers were also used to transport cargoes to PdV´s storage facilities in the Dutch Caribbean, and some, such as the Icaro, have previously been seized by creditors.
The merchant marine captains and crew currently aboard the tankers will continue to operate the vessels with up to four army troops per tanker acting as observers to ensure the tankers and cargoes are not sabotaged, and any dissidence among the crew is suppressed, the defense ministry official said.
The army security teams placed aboard the tankers are equipped with side arms and Russian-made AK-103 automatic rifles, the official said. "The security personnel are prepared for any contingency that could arise aboard the tankers."
The soldiers took position on the vessels without incident over 16-19 May, the defense official added.
Eduardo González, chief executive of PdV´s shipping arm PdV Marina, was present at the army deployment aboard the Icaro and Teseo tankers anchored near the Amuay terminal at the 940,000 b/d CRP refining complex in Falcon state, a PdV Marina official tells Argus.
Since US sanctions against PdV were imposed in January 2019, the company has sought to circumvent their impact on its export and import operations by engaging in offshore ship-to-ship cargo transfers, and instructing tankers to switch off their transponders.
Venezuela's top civilian authority on the country's armed forces, Rocio San Miguel, said the Maduro government's decision to deploy army troops aboard PdV's tankers "turns them into military ships" potentially at risk of being intercepted, boarded and inspected by non-Venezuelan warships patrolling in Caribbean waters.
The oil ministry and PdV declined to comment, referring inquiries to the defense ministry.
Venezuela has a two-decade-old agreement with close ally Cuba to supply oil to the island in exchange for the deployment of Cuban specialists in security, healthcare and sports, among other fields. The country's political opposition has long argued that PdV is giving the oil away.
The US government last month started sanctioning some tankers and shipping companies involved in transporting Venezuelan oil to Cuba, which Washington blames for propping up the Maduro government.
Related news posts
Trump taps Vance as running mate for 2024
Trump taps Vance as running mate for 2024
Washington, 15 July (Argus) — Former president Donald Trump has selected US senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his vice presidential pick for his 2024 campaign, elevating a former venture capitalist and close ally to become his running mate in the election. Vance, 39, is best known for his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy that documented his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, and his Appalachian roots. In the run-up to the presidential elections in 2016, Vance said he was "a never Trump guy" and called Trump "reprehensible." But he has since become one of Trump's top supporters and adopted many of his policies on the economy and immigration. Vance voted against providing more military aid to Ukraine and pushed Europe to spend more on defense. Trump said he chose his running mate after "lengthy deliberation and thought," citing Vance's service in the military, his law degree and his business career, which included launching venture capital firm Narya in 2020. Vance will do "everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," Trump said today in a social media post. Like Trump, Vance has pushed to increase domestic oil and gas production and criticized government support for electric vehicles. President Joe Biden's energy policies have been "at war" with workers in states that are struggling because of the importance of low-cost energy to manufacturing, Vance said last month in an interview with Fox News. Trump made the announcement about Vance on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and just two days after surviving an assassination attempt during a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Earlier today, federal district court judge Aileen Cannon threw out a felony indictment that alleged Trump had mishandled classified government documents after leaving office. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
France's Annecy Haute-Savoie airport will offer SAF
France's Annecy Haute-Savoie airport will offer SAF
London, 15 July (Argus) — Global airport operator Vinci Airports and TotalEnergies have partnered to provide sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and electric charging stations at France's Annecy Haute-Savoie Mont-Blanc airport. TotalEnergies will supply SAF made from waste and residues such as used cooking oil (UCO) to be blended up to 35pc with conventional aviation fuel. It will also install an electric charging station for light aircraft with minimum power of 22 kW. The installation is expected to be completed by October. Vinci Airports first made SAF available to users of Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne airport in France in 2021. The SAF, produced from UCO, is supplied by Air BP under a refuelling contract with Vinci Airports. The company said five of its airports now offer biofuels. By Evelina Lungu Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Waning German products oversupply evens domestic prices
Waning German products oversupply evens domestic prices
Hamburg, 15 July (Argus) — Germany's recent refined products oversupply, particularly in the south, is waning because of higher demand and technical issues reducing availability. Price differences within the country are starting to level out. Availability of heating oil and road fuels at the Bayernoil consortium's 215,000 b/d Vohburg-Neustadt refinery in Bavaria is restricted. At least one of the refinery's stakeholders is restricting loadings of E5 and 98 Ron gasoline and will probably continue to do so until the end of July. Planned maintenance works on a reformer have reduced production. Diesel and heating oil availability for spot sale are also restricted. A unit outage is affecting the refinery's diesel throughput, and a damaged heating oil tank at Vohburg has restricted loading capabilities since June. Term contracts are unaffected. Demand has increased across the board because of lower domestic prices, after Ice gasoil futures dropped week-on-week. Traded heating oil volumes reported to Argus last week rose especially strongly, by 28pc, and fuel demand also went up. By Natalie Mueller Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iraq's Opec+ compliance challenges are not going away
Iraq's Opec+ compliance challenges are not going away
Dubai, 15 July (Argus) — Iraq's crude production fell in June but not by enough to stave off heat from the Opec+ alliance. State-owned marketing firm Somo said output dropped by 26,000 b/d on the month to 3.83mn b/d, excluding that from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Production levels in the northern region are unclear, but are probably enough to take the overall country output to above the 4mn b/d limit imposed by the Opec+ agreement. Iraq has failed to meet this target in any month this year, and as the Opec+ alliance's least compliant member it agreed in May to make additional cuts to compensate for prior overproduction. The Opec+ secondary sources, which include Argus , put Iraq's output at 4.19mn b/d in June. Iraq's oil ministry on 14 July reiterated its commitment to meeting the 4mn b/d limit and reaffirmed its willingness to compensate for the excess production since the beginning of the year. Baghdad's mission is made more difficult by a lack of visibility in Kurdistan, where 400,000 of crude exports were taken off international markets in March 2023. Argus estimates output from the region at between 250,000 b/d and 300,000 b/d, much of which ends up in Turkey or Iran, but the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has stopped providing any oil-sector data. Baghdad says a drop in its crude exports is evidence of attempts to improve compliance — shipments from the southern Basrah oil terminal averaged 3.29mn b/d in June, down from 3.36mn b/d in May and 3.41mn b/d in April, according to Somo. Kpler data put Iraq's crude exports at 3.24mn b/d in June, the lowest since the beginning of the year. Somo said the amount of crude supplied to domestic refineries increased to 475,000 b/d in June from 441,000 b/d in May and 421,000 b/d in April. It said 10,000 b/d were exported to Jordan. By Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
![Generic Hero Banner](/_next/image?url=%2F-%2Fmedia%2Fproject%2Fargusmedia%2Fmainsite%2Fimages%2F14-generic-hero-banners%2Fherobanner_1600x530_generic-c.jpg%3Fh%3D530%26iar%3D0%26w%3D1600%26rev%3D8ec86dce0f724687bd325a9a917cffae%26hash%3D9FD39B08C9D84A160C91A3649C40A186&w=3840&q=75)
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more