(Bloomberg) — Oil majors including Chevron Corp. and Repsol SA are alleviating Venezuela’s fuel shortages as part of new deals following the lifting of US sanctions that have allowed them to expand operations in the South American nation.
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Italy’s Eni SpA and France’s Etablissements Maurel et Prom SA are among the companies delivering a string of fuel and refined products to state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA in the past four months, according to three people familiar with the matter and data from intelligence firm Kpler Ltd. Some of the deliveries are part of recently signed deals that offer more operational control to the foreign partners, including procurement and financial decisions.
Venezuela imported 84,000 barrels a day of refined oil including gasoline, diesel and naphtha in January, according to data from Kpler. That’s the highest since October 2020, when Iran started to supply fuel to the country to address shortages.
The increased imports have helped ease years of painful fuel shortages that kept drivers in line for sometimes days to fill up their cars and severely restricted Venezuela’s industrial and agricultural activity. They follow the easing of US sanctions in October as the Biden administration pushed for President Nicolás Maduro to compromise on free and fair elections.
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The US awarded a six-month license for oil operations in Venezuela. But it’s not clear whether the companies will keep supplying fuel if oil and gas sanctions are renewed in April, as the Biden administration warned.
“Supply of gasoline has improved at pumps nationwide, with no days-waiting lines in cities outside Caracas, especially since January,” said Enrique Chacón, head of Venezuela’s Gas Stations Federation.
Western companies have replaced Iran as a main supplier of light petroleum products. Iran sent workers in 2020 to help revamp refineries at Petróleos de Venezuela as the company struggled to maintain its operations, but no details have emerged on the progress of that work.
Chevron, Eni, Repsol, Maurel et Prom and PDVSA didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
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