Venezuela Snubs U.S. Sanctions With First Oil Import This Year

Venezuela Snubs U.S. Sanctions With First Oil Import This Year

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela’s state-owned oil company imported a key component needed to achieve its goal of almost tripling crude production, defying U.S. efforts to isolate the Maduro regime’s grip on power.

The supertanker Rene is discharging a hydrocarbon known as condensate at the Venezuelan port of Jose, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. It’s the first such import since September, when Petroleos de Venezuela SA took delivery of a cargo of Iranian condensate, which is needed to thin the country’s extra-thick grade of crude.