Venezuela to ship millions of barrels of oil to Italy, perhaps Spain
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With the impending energy crisis in Europe, the US has been urgently reaching out to Venezuela to provide.
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Crude oil drips from a valve at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA in Marichal July 28, 2011. (Reuters)
Venezuela will ship 3.8 million barrels of oil to Italian oil and gas corporation, Eni, and will perhaps be delivering the same amount to Spanish energy and petrochemical company Repsol, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt on Monday.
The report said that the shipments will count as Venezuela's debt payment.
Berlin, on the other side, is looking into whether the deals are a one-time exception or long-term, implying indications that Washington is looking to facilitate Venezuelan oil exports in general, according to the newspaper.
The Venezuelan economy ministry, the German foreign ministry, and Eni declined to comment.
With the impending energy crisis in Europe, the US has been urgently reaching out to Venezuela, even easing sanctions on the country to be able to export its oil.
Last month, the US eased some of the tough sanctions on Venezuela. After three years of political stalemate that has seen Venezuela's economic and social conditions deteriorate dramatically due to US batches of illegal sanctions on the country, Washington’s thirst for oil pushed Biden’s administration to negotiate with his opponents.
It is worth mentioning that two US officials visited Venezuela, and shortly afterward Caracas released two detained Americans, raising hopes for a thaw in relations between the two sides and a resumption of domestic political talks.
"Very clearly, none of these alleviations of pressure would lead to an increase in revenue for the regime," the official said.
"We are going to calibrate our sanctions policy accordingly to increase pressure or alleviate pressure on the basis of ambitious concrete and irreversible outcomes that empower the Venezuelan people to determine the future of their country through democratic elections," the official added.
