Rosneft becomes the largest Venezuelan oil operator, helps alleviate pressure in the United States

The Russian state oil company Rosneft has become the leading Venezuelan oil operator, sending hydrocarbons to buyers in China and India and helping to counter the loss of traditional operators who are avoiding it for fear of violating US sanctions.

Industry sources and data from Eikon de Refinitiv show that Rosneft became the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil in July and the first half of August.

The company acquired 40% of shipments from the Venezuelan state-owned PDVSA in July and 66% in August, according to the company's export plans and Eikon de Refinitiv data, doubling the level of purchases before penalties.

Three industry sources say that Rosneft, which produces about 5% of the world's oil, deals with the shipping and marketing of most of Venezuela's oil exports, ensuring that PDVSA can continue to supply your buyers.

Rosneft used to resell the books she had bought from PDVSA from marketing professionals and was less involved in marketing.

Now it has started to supply some PDVSA customers – refineries in China and India – while operators such as Trafigura and Vitol have moved away because they fear violating US secondary sanctions, according to six commercial sources.

Trafigura and Vitol refused to make statements. Rosneft and PDVSA did not respond to requests for comment.

Oil accounts for over 95% of Venezuelan export revenues and Washington has warned marketers and other buyers of possible measures if they support Caracas.

"Rosneft operated directly with Venezuelan crude, organizing ships and offering them to end users," said a source at a commercial company.

The Russian oil company does not violate US sanctions, because it receives oil as part of the agreements to pay debts after lending money to Caracas in previous years.

PDVSA reduced its outstanding Rosneft debt to $ 1.1 billion at the end of the second quarter of this year from $ 1.8 billion at the end of January to March, the Russian company said Wednesday.