Starla

The 'Starla', carrying about 2 million barrels of condensate, began discharging at Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA’s main oil. The PDVSA and state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in the second half of 2021 started a swap deal to exchange Iranian condensate for PDVSA’s heavy crude. The pact has proven to be key for sustaining Venezuela’s oil output, which needs diluents including condensate for transportation and exports. In 2021 the two state companies that are under U.S. sanctions exchanged some 4.82 million barrels of condensate for 5.55 million barrels of heavy crude, mostly transported in Iran-flagged vessels. The allies also have exchanged Iranian gasoline for Venezuelan jet fuel through an agreement that began in 2020 and has helped ease scarcity of motor fuels in the South America nation. The 'Starla,' owned and managed by state-run National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), arrived in Venezuelan waters on Jan 28, 2022. The vessel, which switch off its transponder in Dec 2021, before departing from Iran’s Tombak port, was assisted by tugs on Jan 31 on its approach to PDVSA’s Jose port. As part of the swap’s terms, the delivery of condensate had been expected in December, but a lack of oil storage and bottlenecks at Jose created delays, PDVSA internal documents showed. The lack of onshore storage capacity, which has forced PDVSA since 2021 to resort to floating storage, also led the company to resume exports of diluted crude oil to Asia.

An Iranian supertanker with two million barrels of oil is heading to Asia after sitting in Iranian waters for months, the first vessel storing crude offshore to sail after a nuclear deal this week, data showed on Thursday. Iran and six major world powers reached a landmark nuclear deal on Tuesday, clearing the way for an easing of international sanctions on Tehran and higher oil exports. While oil analysts do not expect Iran to make a major return to the market until next year, it has been parking millions of barrels of oil on tankers for months. The fully laden Starla, operated by Iran’s top tanker group NITC, had been used for floating storage since Dec. 12, a tanker tracking source said. http://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/first-iranian-ship-storing-oil-sails-for-asia-after-nuclear-deal/