PdVSA to divert Chalmette shipments to PetroChina

Venezuela's state oil company PdVSA will redirect crude shipments from the Chalmette refinery in Louisiana to Chinese oil company PetroChina, PdVSA said.
To date, PdVSA has not stopped supplying crude to the Chalmette refinery, which it holds with US oil major ExxonMobil, despite the conflict between the two companies, PdVSA said. ExxonMobil, however, does not want the crude, meaning shipments will go to the Chinese company, according to PdVSA.

An ExxonMobil spokesperson said operations were normal at the refinery but would not confirm the company did not want the Venezuelan crude.
"The refinery continues to operate as usual. It is capable of processing a variety of crudes, but we don't discuss where we get individual crude supplies for competitive reasons," the spokesperson said.

The Chalmette refinery imported 2.85 mm bbl of crude oil in January, according to the most recent statistics available from the US Energy Information Administration. More than 80 %, or 2.35 mm bbl, came fromVenezuela and the remaining 500,000 bbl were imported from Mexico.
PdVSA stopped spot market sales to ExxonMobil after the US company had $ 12 bn of PdVSA assets frozen around the world.

PdVSA and ExxonMobil each own 50 % of the refinery.
Venezuela may be planning to compensate ExxonMobil for its former assets in the Cerro Negro heavy crude project with the 50 % stake in Chalmette.