Russian VLCC Brings Urals to Venezuela Leaving Questions About It's Purpose

A number of vessel tracking agencies highlighted a Russian VLCC, called Ligera (9237072) with a 1.7mn bbl Urals cargo arrived in Venezuela this week.

• It marks the first Urals cargo to Venezuela in around 5-years and draws questions around the purpose of the transit.
• Vortexa posed two possible main scenarios for the cargo:
• “1) LIGERA could discharge the Urals to a refinery/refineries, such as Cardon or El Palito. This would make most sense, as it would act as refinery feedstock and allow for Venezuela to keep its crude for export markets. Russian Urals is also similar spec to Iranian Heavy, which Venezuela imported in 2022 for its refineries.” Vortexa analyst Armen Azizian said.
• “2) LIGERA could discharge the Urals to Jose Terminal, where it could be blended with its heavy Merey crude for re-export. However, this is unlikely. Historically, lighter products (such as South Pars Condensate and Iranian Light) have been imported here in the past for blending with Merey then for re-export.” Azizian added.