The Spanish oil company Repsol resumed shipments of Venezuelan crude oil to Europe after a two-year pause, according to the specialized portal Argusmedia. "The Spanish integrated company Repsol resumed the oil supply agreement in exchange for Venezuelan debt", as reported by the British portal.
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The report adds that, in the month of July, Repsol's imports from the Bolivarian country reached some 3 million barrels per day.
Repsol stopped importing Venezuelan crude in September 2020 to comply with the sanctions imposed by the United States on the Venezuelan oil industry.
The British news agency Reuters reported on June 5 that the U.S. State Department had sent letters to the oil companies Eni SpA, of Italy, and Repsol SA, of Spain, announcing that they may begin shipments of Venezuelan crude to Europe as of this July.
Venezuela’s recently renewed crude shipments to Europe boosted exports following restored oil-for-debt swap deals between Caracas and Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol.
— venezuelanalysis.com (@venanalysis) July 14, 2022
France is now pushing to receive Venezuelan oil as well.
Read more: https://t.co/HonaGn82om pic.twitter.com/UT9TPtAPbN
The United States has granted exemptions to Venezuelan crude oil to alleviate the crisis generated after asking the European Union (EU) to cut imports of crude oil and gas from Russia to pressure it for its special military operation in Ukraine.
In June, the state company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) exported an average of 630,500 barrels of crude and fuel per day, an increase of 61% in its oil exports, mainly due to the first shipments of Venezuelan crude to Europe in two years.