Tankers from Venezuela as a substitute for Russian oil, US eases sanctions

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - When one's misfortune is another's gain: Venezuela, whose oil industry is under US sanctions, has suddenly emerged as a life-saving substitute for some quantities of Russian crude oil that are in short supply following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The US Department of State has sent letters to the Italian oil company Eni and the Spanish Repsol to resume the delivery of Venezuelan oil. This is also a way to start resolving the multi-billion dollar debt with interest owed by that country.

A cargo of 650,000 barrels of crude oil from Venezuela, intended for the Italian Eni, is already ready to sail, after more than two years of Venezuela being blocked. Another large tanker chartered by Eni, the ship Pantanassa, is also heading to Venezuela, ready to load two million barrels of crude oil for Europe.

All of this was preceded by a political solution to the crisis between the US and Nicolas Maduro's country: The United States has lifted sanctions against a relative of the Venezuelan president after Washington announced it was taking steps to restore dialogue between Maduro's government and the US-backed Venezuelan opposition. The US Treasury Department confirmed last Friday that it had removed Carlos Erika Malpica Flores, former head of Venezuela's state treasury, from the blacklist on which he was placed in 2017, during Donald Trump's term. Malpica Flores held a leading position in Venezuela's national oil company and is the nephew of First Lady Cilia Flores.

Just last month, the Biden administration decided to ease some economic sanctions on Venezuela as part of efforts to encourage talks. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that he believes talks between Nicolas Maduro's government and the opposition led by Juan Guaidó will soon resume in Mexico City, and offered further concessions if Maduro compromises.

European, Asian, and American companies that previously had joint business dealings in Venezuela, including numerous oil giants, have accumulated billions of dollars in unresolved debt since the previous US administration led by Donald Trump imposed sanctions and radicalized relations with Venezuela, which Joe Biden is now repairing to compensate for the shortage of Russian oil on the world market.