By Arathy Somasekhar
HOUSTON (Reuters) -Some tankers Chevron (NYSE:CVX) had chartered to move crude from Venezuela to the U.S. this month are now being marketed for spot contracts elsewhere, sources said, after state company PDVSA canceled loading permits and ordered the firm to return cargoes amid payment uncertainty related to sanctions.
The marketing of the vessels indicates that Chevron does not expect to load all the cargoes it typically ships from Venezuela in a month even if it eventually finds a way to resolve the disagreement with PDVSA.
Tanker Sea Dragon, which had discharged Venezuela’s Boscan heavy crude in Philadelphia, was being marketed by Agelef Maritime Services, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Chevron was marketing vessel Andromeda, which earlier this month discharged Venezuelan Hamaca crude at Port Arthur, the sources added.
At least six more tankers Chevron had chartered to carry Venezuelan crude to the U.S. in coming weeks as part of the wind down of its U.S. license through May 27 were stalled in the Caribbean Sea waiting for directions after PDVSA last week ordered two cargoes to be returned and canceled loading permits to others, cutting the deadline short.
As of Wednesday, Chevron-chartered tanker Dubai Attraction, which finished loading some 300,000 barrels of Venezuelan Boscan crude in early April, was still awaiting customs paperwork to return its cargo, according to ship tracking data and sources.
Carina Voyager, managed by a Chevron unit, was near Aruba after returning its 500,000-barrel cargo to PDVSA last week, LSEG shipping data showed.
Sea Jaguar’s loading window at Venezuela’s Jose terminal, originally scheduled for mid-April, was canceled by PDVSA, according to a document seen by Reuters. The ship was on Wednesday hovering around Aruba, according to tracking data.
Chevron and PDVSA did not reply to requests for comment. Venezuela Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez said in a social media post that PDVSA "maintains its commitments with Chevron," but Chevron is the "victim" of U.S. sanctions.
Other tankers chartered by trading house Vitol were loading and discharging normally at Venezuelan ports, according to the data and documents, while vessels chartered by Reliance Industries (NSE:RELI) for India delivery and Maurel & Prom for Europe departed on schedule, ahead of the May 27 deadline to wind down cargoes and operations.