NEW YORK: Representatives of fuel suppliers to Venezuela, importers of Venezuelan oil and advocacy groups said this month they plan to press the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden to reverse a ban on crude-for-diesel swaps.
"Public transit uses a lot of diesel," said Feliciano Reyna, president of Caracas-based aid group Accion Solidaria focusing on HIV/AIDS treatment and other medical relief activities. A person close to Reliance said the company had sent Biden allies briefing materials on the potential humanitarian fallout of the ban on diesel swaps in the hopes the new administration would reinstate the exemption.
PDVSA's 1.3 million bpd refining network is operating at minimal capacity after years of underinvestment and mismanagement, while PDVSA has continued to export some diesel to Venezuela's political ally Cuba under a long-term supply agreement.