SINGAPORE/HOUSTON : China has entrusted a defense-focused state firm to ship millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil despite U.S. sanctions, part of a deal to offset Caracas' billions of dollars of debt to Beijing, according to three sources and tanker tracking data.
The three CASIC tankers load in Venezuela with their transponders active, allowing third-party tracking, Eikon data showed. "These shipments are strictly under a government mandate, where CASIC was designated to move the oil as payment to offset Venezuelan debt ," the person said.Media departments at CASIC, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Administration of Chinese Customs did not respond to requests for comment.A second source said that although part of each cargo pays down debt, other goods, such as COVID-19 vaccines, are also being subtracted from the crude sales.
Reuters could not determine how much of Venezuela's debt remains outstanding. In August 2020, Beijing agreed to extend a grace period for $19 billion of the loans, Reuters reported, but China and Venezuela have not said whether that period has ended.China, the world's top oil buyer, has over the past few years benefited from cheaper oil supplies from Iran and Venezuela, and has in recent months ramped up imports from Russia amid soured relations with Washington.
The company has since 2015 worked with state oil giants, including CNPC and Sinopec, in petroleum equipment manufacturing, digital technology and overseas projects, according to company websites.The CASIC Venezuelan oil shipments are transported by three Very Large Crude Carriers - Xingye, Yongle and Thousand Sunny-, according PDVSA's loading schedules and ship tracking by Vortexa and Refinitiv.
All Venezuelan oil cargoes received by CASIC were originally picked up at the Jose port by Cirrostrati Technology Co LTD, a firm with no track record in oil trading, acting as intermediary for only these cargoes, according to PDVSA schedules.