Oil tanker loading resumes in Venezuela, but most exports on hold

By Marianna Parraga

Dec 17 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA resumed loading crude and fuel cargoes on Wednesday after suspending operations at terminals on Sunday due to a cyberattack, although most exports remain on hold as the U.S. threatens to enforce a blockade on tankers under sanctions, according to three company sources, traders and shipping data.

Venezuela's crude exports have fallen sharply from the more than 900,000 barrels per day it shipped in November since the U.S. seized a sanctioned vessel a week ago. Operators have kept loaded ships in Venezuelan waters for fear they would be seized if they set sail for China, the destination for most of Venezuela's oil.

Even as ships resume loading at PDVSA's terminals, it is unclear how many would sail into international waters. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers sailing into or out of Venezuelan waters. Oil prices rose by more than 1% on Wednesday on the potential for a deeper and longer-term reduction in Venezuela's oil exports.

CHEVRON CONTINUES SHIPPING

U.S. oil major Chevron CVX.N on Wednesday had two vessels loading cargoes bound for the United States, according to one of the sources and shipping data.

Chevron has continued to ship Venezuelan crude since the seizure last week. The company is a joint-venture partner with PDVSA and has U.S. authorization to export oil from Venezuela despite sanctions on the OPEC member.

Not all vessels loading Venezuelan oil are under sanctions. Of 75 oil tankers currently in Venezuela that are part of a "shadow fleet" of ships that typically navigate with transponders off to disguise their locations, around 38 have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, according to data from TankerTrackers.com, updated on Wednesday. Of those, 15 are loaded with crude and fuel, it added.

An unsanctioned supertanker set sail this week with its tracking signal off, carrying 1.8 million barrels of heavy crude, after waiting days to leave. Another Very Large Crude Carrier recently arrived in Venezuelan waters in "dark mode," according to a PDVSA internal document and monitoring data.

About 15 million barrels of Venezuelan oil remain stuck on vessels in the country's waters. Customers and shippers have demanded price discounts and contract changes from PDVSA to compensate them for the increased risk of shipping the country's oil, traders and a company source said this week.

PDVSA said in a statement on Wednesday that oil exports and imports were back to normal, and its tanker fleet was navigating without interruptions.

OIL BYPRODUCTS MOVING

Two ships without sanctions set sail on Wednesday carrying oil byproducts, but not crude, according to ship tracking data and PDVSA documents. The vessels are transporting methanol and petroleum coke, a residue of crude upgrading. Washington has not targeted oil byproducts or petrochemicals since it first imposed sanctions on Venezuela in 2019.

At least half a dozen oil tankers have turned around since last week to avoid approaching the Caribbean Sea, which is heavily patrolled by U.S. vessels, the TankerTrackers.com data showed. The Trump administration has moved thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships to the region.

Venezuela called Trump's blockade a "grotesque threat" in a statement on Tuesday night, saying he was violating international law, free commerce and the right of free navigation.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has alleged that the U.S. military build-up is aimed at overthrowing him and gaining control of the OPEC nation's oil resources. Venezuela holds the world's largest crude reserves.

It is unclear how the U.S. would enforce the blockade, and whether it would turn to the U.S. Coast Guard to interdict vessels. The Coast Guard was involved in the seizure last week of the supertanker Skipper near Venezuela, which was the first U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil cargo.

PDVSA OPERATIONS ISOLATED DUE TO CYBERATTACK

PDVSA had to isolate the operations of oilfields, refineries, ports and other facilities from its central system to resume work after the cyberattack, sources familiar with its operations said.

The state firm detected a ransomware attack days ago, and the antivirus software it used to try to fix the problem affected its entire administrative system, according to a company source. In a ransomware attack, malicious software encrypts a victim's files or locks their computer, often causing severe disruptions.

Workers at terminals are making manual records of deliveries to avoid a longer suspension of exports, the sources said.

Also on Wednesday, Venezuela's largest refinery, the 645,000-barrel-per-day Amuay refinery, restarted after a brief power outage, sources told Reuters.

The rising U.S.-Venezuela tensions have also affected the South American country's imports of heavy naphtha, which are needed to dilute its extra-heavy oil output. Russia's naphtha exports to Venezuela are at risk due to the blockade, market sources said on Wednesday. Some tankers carrying Russian naphtha to Venezuela have turned back, shipping data showed.