Khaberni - 3 out of 11 oil tankers chartered by "Chevron" sailed from Venezuela towards the United States on Thursday, according to analyses of ship tracking data, while export sanctions raise concerns about the South American country's storage capacity.
Two other ships were docked at the Bahia Grande refinery port in western Venezuela, while the remaining six tankers were on their way empty back to Venezuela, according to ship tracking data collected by Bloomberg and trade information platform Kpler.
"Chevron" is the only American company authorized to operate in Venezuela; it chartered these oil tankers as part of a regular schedule of crude oil shipments returning to the United States.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Caracas would deliver between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned crude oil to the United States.
Kpler analysts warned that the American blockade on Venezuelan exports is causing oil to accumulate in storage.
"Chevron" refused to confirm the ship movements, simply stating that they "continue to focus on the safety and welfare of their employees" and that they "continue to operate in compliance with relevant laws."
Data from Kpler showed that crude oil inventories in Venezuela have been rising since the United States detained the oil tanker Skipper on December 10th.
