Rising Russian naphtha exports to Venezuela are at risk after US President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the Latin American country, market sources said.
Washington announced on Tuesday its latest move to increase pressure on Nicolas Maduro’s government by imposing the blockade. Venezuela relies on naphtha to dilute its extra-heavy crude oil, making it easier to transport and process.
It began importing naphtha from Russia in July after US sanctions cut off supplies from its former American suppliers.
Because Russia uses sanctioned vessels to deliver its naphtha cargoes to Venezuela, traders warn these ships could be redirected to other destinations in search of new buyers.
At least one vessel, Benin-flagged tanker Boltaris, which was carrying around 32,000 tonnes of Russian naphtha bound for Venezuela, made a u-turn late last week and is now heading for Europe without having discharged, LSEG data showed.
Russia has exported most of its naphtha to the Middle East and Asia since the European Union’s full embargo on Russian oil products took effect in February 2023. India and Taiwan have been among the leading buyers, while Brazil has also taken some volumes, primarily blending it into gasoline.
After the US imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies in October, however, and pressured India to reduce Russian oil imports, naphtha loadings from Russian ports to Asian destinations fell by about 15 per cent last month to around 800,000 tonnes, LSEG and market sources data showed.
In contrast, shipments to Latin America surged. According to the data, naphtha export loadings from Russian ports to Venezuela jumped in November to 190,000 tonnes from 35,000 tonnes in the previous month.
Some of those cargoes have been discharged and several tankers are still en route. Shipping data for December indicates at least 100,000 tonnes of Russian naphtha are destined for Venezuela.
(Reporting by Reuters in Moscow; Editing by Ed Osmond)
