HOUSTON (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA is considering a declaration of force majeure if customers do not accept ship-to-ship transfers or if tanker congestion worsens at its two main export facilities, three sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
PDVSA's largest buyers were being asked to accept new terms or face force majeure, the sources said.
PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment.
Argus, a provider of energy pricing information and news, first reported the possibility of PDVSA invoking the declaration. (https://
The cash-strapped company pulled back from several Caribbean islands where it prepares cargoes for export after ConocoPhillips (N:COP) seized assets to enforce a $2 billion (£1.5 billion) arbitration award in a dispute over the socialist government's nationalisation of the U.S. oil producer's Venezuela assets.
PDVSA's declining crude production, lack of spare parts and materials to run its refineries and difficulty importing critical light crude and naphtha to blend with its heavy crudes are progressively reducing the amount of oil available for export.
Venezuela has been wracked by political turmoil and a severe recession and hyperinflation.