Iran defies U.S. sanctions, delivers oil to Venezuela

Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, received its first shipment of 2022 condensate oil from Iran, a key input to boost production to its ambitious target of 1.5 million barrels per day.

According to a company document and tanker tracking services, an Iranian supertanker, Starla, carrying about 2 million barrels of condensate oil began discharging at PDVSA’s main oil port on Monday – defying U.S. sanctions, which were previously imposed on both state-run companies.

The vessel, which switched off its transponder in December before departing from Iran's Tombak port, was assisted by tugboats on its approach to PDVSA's “Jose” port, Reuters reported.

In the second half of last year, PDVSA and state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) began trading Iranian condensate for PDVSA's heavy crude, in a move designed to help sustain Venezuela’s oil output, which requires diluents including condensate for transportation and exports.

Last year, PDVSA and NIOC exchanged approximately 4.82 million barrels of condensate for 5.55 million barrels of heavy crude, mostly transported in Iran-flagged vessels. The two sanctioned companies have also exchanged Iranian gasoline for Venezuelan jet fuel – in an attempt to ease the scarcity of motor fuels being felt throughout the Latin American nation.

Originally, the delivery of condensate had been expected in December, but PDVSA internal documents showed that a lack of oil storage and bottlenecks at Jose created delays.

The same lack of storage at Jose forced PDVSA to rely on floating storage facilities and to resume exports of diluted crude oil, a blend of extra-heavy oil and imported condensate.