A tanker carrying Venezuelan oil has docked at the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao, where the crude oil will be temporarily stored at the request of the US government, the NOS television channel reported.
Two of the world's largest commodity traders - Trafigura Group and Vitol Group - are transporting Venezuelan oil to Caribbean countries for subsequent resale. This includes temporary storage of oil shipments in Curacao and the Bahamas. According to the television corporation, four tankers are currently off the coast of Venezuela. This week, Trafigura and Vitol are expected to receive a total of approximately 4.8 million barrels of Venezuelan oil for subsequent delivery to storage facilities in the Caribbean.
The arrival of Venezuelan oil is in line with the interests of the Curacao authorities, who are seeking to restore the island's role in international energy logistics. As the island's refinery has been out of operation for 5 years and requires significant investment to restart, the government is focusing on storage, transshipment and logistics using existing infrastructure.
In light of this, Curacao Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas announced “great opportunities“ for the island, highlighting the economic potential of oil operations. According to NOS, the Curacao authorities do not view cooperation on oil storage in the context of US actions in Venezuela as politically sensitive and emphasize the potential benefits for the island's economy, despite the ongoing uncertainty in the region.