Iranian Supertanker Leaves Venezuela With 2M BBL Of Heavy Oil

An Iran-flagged supertanker over the weekend was about to set sail from Venezuelan waters carrying 2 million barrels of heavy crude provided by state-run oil firm PDVSA, according to documents seen by Reuters and vessel tracking services.

Photo Insert: An NITC owned oil tanker

The shipment is part of a deal agreed by PDVSA and its counterpart National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) that exchanges Iranian condensate for Venezuela's Merey crude. The swaps aim to ease an acute shortage of diluents that has cut Venezuela's oil output and exports, Marianna Parraga and Deisy Buitrago reported for Reuters.

Dino I, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) owned and operated by NIOC's National Iranian Tanker Co. (NITC), finished loading the Venezuelan oil at PDVSA's Jose port late Friday, according to the documents, a source, and monitoring service TankerTrackers.com.

The bilateral oil trade could be a breach of US. sanctions on both countries, the US Treasury Department told Reuters last month, citing government orders that establish the punitive measures. Treasury spokesperson on Saturday declined to comment further on the latest development.

The vessel arrived in Venezuela in September with its transponder turned off while carrying 2.1 million barrels of Iranian condensate. The light oil-fed PDVSA's Petrolera Sinovensa, Petropiar, and Petrocedeno projects in the country's Orinoco Belt.

A second condensate cargo of similar size is expected to be delivered to Venezuela in the coming weeks as part of the swap routine, which will be in effect for six months in its first phase.

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