American Oil Company rafters has completed work loading crude oil from Venezuela and is preparing for the arrival of a second freighter this week, according to Argus, a hydrocarbons outlet.
This first energy-level commercial reconciliation between the North American nation and Nicolás Maduro’s administration comes after former President Joe Biden’s administration gave Chevron powers to expand its operations on the floor of the level.
The ship will transport a total of 250,000 barrels of oil from ports in the Bajo Grande region of Venezuela’s Zulia state. This is the first shipment of “black gold” from that country to the United States, four years after a trade sanction over allegedly fraudulent voting for Maduro’s re-election.
The Beauty One ship arrived in Venezuela on December 21, and while data collected by Argus does not confirm Chevron is the charterer, various analysts are taking the transaction for granted, making the negotiations that PDVSA began in November 2022 successfully completed.
It is known that the ship, built in 1993, has carried out cabotage trips off the coast of the South American country in recent months. The General License 41 granted by the Biden administration to the company, which refines 1.8 million barrels a day, could be crowned with sailing at any time.
The American Chevron is expected to deliver a second oil tanker next Thursday, January 5, this time to load Venezuelan oil in the state of Anzoátegui. The Chevron-chartered UACC Eagle carries 620,400 barrels of naphtha, a critical diluent for Orinoco’s heavy crude oil, according to Vortexa.
Likewise, there is speculation about the arrival of the Caribbean Voyager, commissioned by Chevron to haul the upgraded Merey 16, a name for a heavy crude made from a blend of crudes from eastern Venezuela. Boarding, scheduled for this weekend, would take place at the José terminal to the east.