Marianna Parraga & Deisy Buitrago

HOUSTON/CARACAS – A supertanker, Iran-flagged and bound for Venezuela was set to depart Saturday carrying 2 million barrels heavy crude oil provided by the state-run oil business PDVSA.

This shipment was part of a PDVSA-NIOC deal that swaps Iranian condensate with Venezuela’s Merey oil. The swaps aim to ease an acute shortage of diluents that has cut Venezuela’s oil output and exports, Reuters reported last month https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-under-us-sanctions-iran-venezuela-strike-oil-export-deal-sources-2021-09-25.

Dino I was a crude carrier of very high size (VLCC) that is owned and operated NIOC’s National Iranian Tanker Company. It loaded Venezuelan oil to PDVSA’s Jose port in late Friday according to reports from TankerTrackers.com, a monitoring and source service.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, bilateral oil trading could constitute a violation of U.S. sanctions against both countries.

In September, the vessel arrived in Venezuela with its transponder disabled and carrying 2.1million barrels Iranian condensate. This light oil was used by Petrolera Sinovensa and Petropiar projects within the Orinoco Belt of PDVSA.

In the following weeks, Venezuela will receive a second condensate shipment of similar weight as part the swap procedure. This routine will continue for six more months.

Venezuela’s oil ministry and NIOC didn’t respond to our requests for comment.

PDVSA launched the exchange by sending 1.9million barrels Merey heavy crude oil on an Iran-flagged supertanker Felicity.

This exchange gives OPEC countries a steady supply of blending materials to help them convert their extra heavy oil to exportable grades. This pact provides Iran with heavy oil for marketing to Asian clients, refining it or blending.

Despite the US’s watchful eye, Iran and Venezuela have intensified their cooperation over the past year.