"Sanctions are pushing us into an embrace". Russia has become the main supplier of ligroin to Venezuela

Russia has displaced the United States as the main supplier of ligroin to Venezuela, writes Bloomberg.

Ligroin is a petroleum product required to dilute extra-heavy crude oil and ensure the transportation of oil through pipelines for export.

"Washington's policy is playing the role of a connecting link here. The sanctions are pushing these countries into each other's arms," said Rory Johnston, oil market researcher and founder of Commodity Context

According to Kpler, US lignin supplies from March to October practically came to nothing, while supplies from Russia over the same period amounted to more than seven million barrels.

These shipments, which amounted to about 49,000 bpd in August and 69,000 bpd in September, are also the first recorded wave of ligroin exports from Russia to Venezuela in almost six years.

Venezuela has started looking for a new supplier of ligroin after US President Donald Trump earlier this year tightened sanctions on its oil sector, revoking the license of some energy companies to operate in the country, including Chevron.

Revocation of Chevron's license put an end to almost a year and a half when the United States was almost the exclusive supplier of ligroin to this South American country. The agreement provided U.S. refineries with a convenient market for surplus light oil products.

Venezuela then turned to China to cover the deficit, but to no avail. Earlier, in previous years, it had been buying this product from Iran, which is also under severe sanctions.

However, Russian liquefied natural gas has proven to be a better and probably cheaper alternative to Iranian condensate, Bloomberg notes.

For the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro the agreement with Russia "provides both economic benefits and political influence," said Fernando Ferreira, director of geopolitical risks at Rapidan Energy Group. For Russia, it is a symbolic bridgehead in the US backyard, which strengthens Maduro's confidence and irritates Washington, the expert believes.

• After the Ukrainian attacks on refineries, Russia reduced its exports of oil products and increased its supplies of crude oil. According to Reuters estimates, Russia's marine exports of oil products in September fell by 17.1% compared to August.