- Crude oil prices push higher following reports that Venezuela is nearly a month behind delivering crude to customers from its main oil export terminals; WTI crude +1.4% at $65.63/bbl, Brent also +1.4% at $76.42/bbl.
- Venezuela's state-run PDVSA warned in recent days that deliveries to major refiners could be interrupted if it fails to end a tanker bottleneck contributing to a sharp decline in oil exports.
- According to Reuters, tankers waiting to load 24M-plus barrels of crude - nearly as much as PDVSA shipped in April - are sitting off Venezuela’s main oil port in a backlog so severe that the company has told some customers it may declare force majeure.
- Customers waiting for cargoes with tankers already at sea reportedly include Chevron (CVX +2.1%), Valero Energy (VLO +0.5%) and China’s CNPC and its PetroChina (PTR +0.8%) trading unit.
- ETFs: USO, XLE, OIL, UWT, UCO, VDE, XOP, DWT, ERX, OIH, SCO, BNO, DBO, ERY, DIG, BGR, GUSH, DTO, FENY, USL, IYE, DUG, DRIP, IEO, FIF, DNO, NDP, PXE, OLO, RYE, PXJ, SZO, CRAK, FXN, OLEM, WTIU, DDG, OILK, NANR, OILX, WTID, USOI, USOU, USOD, FTXN, JHME, UBRT, ERYY, DBRT, ERGF, OILD, OILU, USAI
- Now read: Pessimistic On Crude Oil Ahead Of Vienna
Original article