HOUSTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Trading companies have begun preparations to load and export Venezuelan liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as part of a 50 million barrel oil supply deal between Caracas and Washington, two sources and a shipping document seen by Reuters on Monday said.
Traders Vitol and Trafigura earlier this month received the first U.S. licenses to handle supplies in the $2 billion flagship deal, which aims to deplete inventories that have built up since U.S. sanctions. An oil blockade was imposed on the country in December. Shipping data shows the companies have since exported about 10 million barrels of Venezuelan crude.
Trading companies are now also preparing to export residual fuel oil and LPG.
While fuel oil is a product Venezuela overproduces as its refineries process extra-heavy crude, it has not had a surplus of LPG for years because all output would meet domestic demand.
However, interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who is also Venezuela’s oil minister, said earlier this month that the country would soon export LPG after Venezuela’s domestic production last year fully met overall fuel needs.
The Singapore-flagged Chrysopigi Lady, chartered by Trafigura, approached the Venezuelan port of José on Monday to load a cargo of liquefied petroleum gas, LSEG vessel data showed.
Trafigura and PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Mariana Paraga; Editing by Julia Symes-Cobb and Diane Craft)