Tankers pile up off Venezuela as sales exceed port capacity
Shipping data, sources, and documents indicate that Venezuela’s dilapidated oil ports are imposing what can be considered a ceiling on the country’s crude exports, despite a recovery in production. Tankers are forced to wait up to 30 days for loading due to aging infrastructure, power outages, and quality issues.
These delays pose obstacles to the United States’ plan to rapidly boost Venezuelan oil exports following a landmark deal with global trading firms.
Infrastructure challenges appear set to intensify, as several partners of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, prepare to market their production shares independently under new contractual terms.
Venezuelan oil clients last faced such prolonged delays during the U.S. naval blockade imposed on the South American country late last year, part of a strategy that culminated on January 3 with the arrest of then-President Nicolas Maduro. Since then, interim leader Delcy Rodriguez has adhered to Washington’s plan to revive oil exports.
However, in recent months, ship-tracking data suggests that PDVSA and its partners have been unable to push exports beyond 1.25 million barrels per day, even as crude production rises and global demand increases.
When production peaked at more than 3 million barrels per day over two decades ago, the country’s export terminals were capable of handling more than 2.5 million barrels per day, with tankers entering and exiting Venezuelan territorial waters in less than two weeks.
“A source at PDVSA said: ‘The speed of transferring crude from tanks to ships is incredibly slow, forcing tankers to occupy port berths longer than the allotted loading times. If a ship arrives to unload imports, it takes even longer due to a lack of fuel storage capacity.’”
These delays are evident in the dozens of oil tankers waiting for cargoes at anchorages in the country, particularly near the Jose port on Venezuela’s northeastern coast, which handles about 70 percent of total exports.
Shipping reports reviewed by Reuters showed disruptions this year due to equipment failures, quality issues, and power outages during loading and unloading operations at the Jose port.
Sources say that even companies with privileged access to berths after decades of partnership with PDVSA, such as major U.S. oil giant Chevron, are seeking solutions to improve loading operations, including requesting access to ports previously reserved for domestic shipping.
An oil export agreement between Venezuela and the United States, which has been extended several times, has allowed traders, including Vitol and Trafigura, to ship more than 140 million barrels of crude and fuel this year. Most shipments are headed to the United States, while others return to markets that have not seen Venezuelan barrels in years, such as Europe and India, amid eased U.S. sanctions.
However, as Washington pushes to implement a $100 billion plan to rehabilitate Venezuela’s energy sector, focusing primarily on increasing crude production, it is not prioritizing projects in the transportation and refining sectors, including those related to repairing terminals and refineries.
US and Venezuelan officials praised the resurgence of oil exports at two conferences held in Houston this week, acknowledging infrastructure-related challenges that they said could be addressed through new investments. Giovanni Martinez, vice president of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, said at one of the conferences, “We are today in a recovery phase, but the infrastructure exists... there are shortcomings and reliability must be improved.”
