Seized Oil Cargo Is Latest Twist in Venezuela’s Political Fight

A crude tanker stuck at sea for over a year has become the latest front
in the battle over Venezuela’s oil riches after being seized this week.

Citgo Petroleum Corp., led by appointees of Venezuelan opposition leader
Juan Guaido, is weighing filing an insurance claim this week for theft
after a tanker holding almost 1 million barrels of oil was seized by
Venezuela, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The contested oil, purchased by Citgo and loaded on the tanker Gerd
Knutsen, floated offshore Venezuela for more than a year. In December, a
shadow board of Citgo directors chosen by President Nicolas Maduro
attempted to seize the cargo but was blocked by a U.S. court. The
roughly 960,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude that was once bound for a
Citgo refinery in the U.S. is instead discharging this week in the Port
of Jose at a terminal run by Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the national oil company controlled by Maduro, according to people familiar with the
matter and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

See also: After Year at Sea, Oil Caught in Venezuelan Tug-Of-War Docks

The oil tanker and its cargo worth about $50 million is caught up in Venezuela’s power struggle, which heated up after Guaido’s first
official visit to the White House to meet President Donald Trump earlier
this month. After the meeting, Maduro’s regime moved to imprison six
former Citgo executives who’d been living under house arrest. The tanker
was stuck in limbo after the U.S. imposed tougher sanctions on PDVSA in
late January 2019 to curtail Maduro’s income from oil sales.

The cargo that was discharged consisted mostly of diluted crude oil, as
well as 30,000 barrels of Pedernales crude, the person said.

Citgo and PDVSA didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment,
while a representative at Venezuela’s Information Ministry declined to comment.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-14/seized-oil-cargo-is-latest-twist-in-venezuela-s-political-fight
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