Citgo is willing to resume imports of Venezuelan crude if the US authorizes it: manager

US refiner Citgo Petroleum is willing to resume imports of Venezuelan crude, suspended since 2019 by Washington sanctions on its parent company PDVSA, if the US government authorizes the shipments, the company’s chief executive said on Friday.

Senior officials from the United States and Venezuela have been in political negotiations since March, which could lead to the relaxation of trade sanctions imposed on the OPEC partner country, whose oil production and exports continue to be affected by the measures.

OPEC and the French government, on behalf of Europe, have called on Washington to allow Venezuelan and Iranian crude to trade freely again to consuming nations, which have struggled to replace Russian energy supplies since the war in Ukraine began. .

“To be competitive in this market you have to buy the cheapest and most convenient crude,” Carlos Jordá, CEO of Citgo Petroleum Corporation, told an online conference on energy assets abroad. “We shouldn’t be at a disadvantage (with other refiners),” he added.

Citgo did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

In May, the administration of President Joe Biden authorized the European companies Eni ENI.MI and Repsol REP.MC to resume imports of Venezuelan crude, which last month helped boost the country’s total oil exports.

Chevron Corp CVX.N, the last US producer operating in Venezuela, is also seeking authorization from the US Treasury Department to ship Venezuelan oil and even gain operational control of its joint ventures.

“If it does come, it is (Venezuelan) crude that is duly authorized and there are no penalties, and it reaches the Gulf Coast at a competitive price, and furthermore, if it were to be heavy crude, with all certainty, at least it would have to be evaluated,” Horacio Medina, president of an ad hoc board that oversees Citgo, said at the same conference.

“There is no reason to radically close yourself off from that,” Medina added.

Citgo, whose first-quarter profit rose more than 10 times from the year-earlier level of $245 million on higher processing volumes and higher fuel prices, will report second-quarter results in coming days, Jordá said.

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