HOUSTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Trading houses have begun making preparations to load and export Venezuelan liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as part of a 50-million-barrel oil supply deal between Caracas and Washington, according to two sources and a shipping document seen by Reuters on Monday.
Traders Vitol and Trafigura earlier this month were granted the first U.S. licenses to handle supplies from the $2 billion flagship deal, which aims to drain inventories accumulated since the U.S. imposed an oil blockade on the country in December. The companies have since exported about 10 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, shipping data showed.
The trading houses are now also getting ready to export residual fuel oil and LPG.
While fuel oil is a product Venezuela produces in excess due to the processing of its extra heavy crude at refineries, it had not had a surplus of LPG in years because all output was going to meet domestic demand.
However, interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who also serves as Venezuela’s oil minister, said earlier this month the country would soon export LPG after Venezuela’s overall fuel demand was fully met from domestic output last year.
The Singapore-flagged vessel Chrysopigi Lady, chartered by Trafigura, was approaching Venezuela’s Jose port on Monday to pick up a LPG cargo, LSEG ship data showed.
Trafigura and Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Julia Symmes-Cobb and Diane Craft)
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