The resistance to sending LPG to Venezuela must only have an anti-political motivation (Photo: Loren Elliott / Reuters).
The US-based refining arm of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, CITGO Petroleum Corporation——hijacked by Washington and “managed” by members of the Guaidó clan—said it has no immediate plan to supply liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Venezuela, despite the Treasury Department lifting the blockade for its sale of fuel to Venezuela.
“We are aware that OFAC recently issued General License 40, authorizing certain transactions related to the export of LPG to Venezuela,” CITGO told the specialized agency Argus Media. “At this time, CITGO has no plans to participate in this activity.”
According to Argus, CITGO’s stance is similar to that of other US product suppliers who have stated that they are unlikely to resume LPG supplies to Venezuela despite the new authorization.
In a virtual event organized by the Washington-based Atlantic Council, US Undersecretary of State Kevin O’Reilly said that allowing Venezuela to import LPG—a fuel that almost 90% of the Venezuelan population depends on for cooking—was a “humanitarian gesture.”
Inexplicable que CITGO, que es de todos los venezolanos, se niegue a enviar gas al país después de que EEUU lo permite por razones humanitarias. Exhorto a la directiva nombrada por @jguaido a que reconsidere una decisión que afecta a millones de familias.https://t.co/dsIc0fMpzg
— Francisco Rodríguez (@frrodriguezc) July 15, 2021
Up until today, LPG imports have been almost nil in the Bolivarian Republic. In 2018, the year before CITGO’s seizure, the intensification of the oil embargo, and the blockade of the Venezuelan economy, Venezuela imported a monthly average of 238,000 barrels of US propane, according to data from the United States Energy Information Administration cited by Argos.
CITGO owns three refineries in the United States: Lake Charles, Louisiana, producing 425,000 barrels per day (bpd); Corpus Christi, Texas, of 158,000 bpd; and that of Lemont, in Illinois, producing 167,000 bpd.
Featured image: The resistance to sending LPG to Venezuela could only have a political motivation (Photo: Loren Elliott/Reuters).
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
