Threat of Looming Venezuela Sanctions Causing Uncertainty in Oil Industry, Report Says
Oil tankers are steering clear of Venezuelan waters as the industry braces for a host of U.S. sanctions on ships operating in the Venezuelan oil sector, according to a June 9 Reuters report. Reuters previously reported the U.S. is preparing sanctions on dozens of foreign oil tankers for doing business with Venezuela, which could include designations on at least 40 ships. The move could lead to sharp increases in tanker rates and disrupt the global shipping industry, Reuters said.
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Although the sanctions have yet to be announced, the threat of designations is already causing disruptions, the June 9 report said. Some Chinese oil companies are considering whether to decline to charter tankers that have visited Venezuela in the past year, the report said, while other large crude carriers recently left Venezuelan waters to anchor in the eastern Caribbean. “Oil companies and merchants worldwide -- not just in China -- are becoming more wary of vessels that have recently transported Venezuelan oil,” the report said.
A State Department spokesperson said the agency is working “with companies in the energy sector on the possible risks they face by conducting business with” Petroleos de Venezuela, the state-run energy company. The Treasury Department declined to comment. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control recently sanctioned four companies and four vessels for operating in Venezuela's oil sector (see 2006020024).