Spain’s crude oil imports from Venezuela have reached their highest level since 2006, thanks to a U.S. license granted to Spanish energy company Repsol to import Venezuelan oil, according to data from the Spanish government.
So far this year, Spain has imported around 2.6 million metric tons of crude oil from Venezuela, as reported by Spanish government agency Cores and cited by Reuters. This is close to the 2.7 million tons imported in the same period of 2006.
Venezuela has increased its crude oil exports to Western countries this year, fueled by relaxed U.S. sanctions and specific licenses given to European companies such as Repsol and Italy’s Eni. Repsol holds a special U.S. license to import crude from Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA to settle debts.
Despite the temporary six-month U.S. sanctions relief ending in April 2024, the U.S. issued several licenses allowing international companies to continue trading with Venezuela. One of these licenses was granted to Repsol, along with companies like U.S. Chevron, Italy’s Eni, Maurel & Prom, and Shell.
Repsol has active oil production projects in Venezuela. These include joint ventures with PDVSA in the Perla Field (one of Latin America’s largest offshore gas fields), the Quiriquire gas project, and the Petrocarabobo and Petroquiriquire heavy crude projects.
As a result of the U.S. license, Spain’s imports of crude from Venezuela have significantly increased this year. Between January and July 2024, Spain’s imports from Venezuela totaled 1.7 million tons, surpassing the total imports for all of 2023, which were 1.4 million tons.
Repsol has also increased production at its Venezuelan joint ventures with PDVSA, as reported by Repsol’s CEO Josu Jon Imaz in July.
Related Topics:
- Trafigura Oil Bribery Trial Begins in Switzerland
- Galp Confirms Discovery of High-Quality Light Oil Offshore Namibia
- What is The Oil Price Index Today ((December 3)