Benin Ships First Crude Cargo for Decades From Revived Oil Field
Benin has rejoined the ranks of West Africa’s oil-exporting states, with its first crude oil cargo headed to Europe from an offshore field that had been dormant since the late 1990s.
A specialist trader works, as a screen shows the trading information for Chevron Corporation, on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 5, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Jan 6 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s main oil ports on Tuesday entered their fifth day without delivering crude for state-run PDVSA’s customers in Asia, which are the OPEC country’s main buyers, shipping data showed, as the U.S. presses the nation through an oil embargo.
Chevron CVX.N, which is PDVSA’s main joint-venture partner, on Monday resumed exports of Venezuelan oil to the U.S. after a four-day pause and called workers abroad back to its Venezuela offices as flights to the country restarted. The U.S. firm has emerged in recent weeks as the only company fluidly exporting Venezuela’s crude.
At least a dozen vessels under sanctions that had loaded in December departed from Venezuela’s waters in early January carrying some 12 million barrels of crude and fuel bound for China. They left in ‘dark mode’ or with transponders off, breaking a U.S. tanker blockade in effect since last month.
Washington has not clarified if it authorized those departures. PDVSA did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026.
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