Reuters reports, citing internal sources, that PDVSA, the oil company of the Venezuelan government, has plans to increase the use of cryptocurrencies in crude oil and fuel exports. This is because the US has brought back oil sanctions against Venezuela again.
last week The US Treasury Department has given PDVSA’s customers and suppliers until May 31 to cease transactions under its general license The US has not extended the license because Venezuela has not carried out electoral reform
Such a move would make it more difficult for Venezuela to increase oil production and exports. This is because companies must wait for individual US permission to do business with Venezuela.
The source said Since last year, PDVSA has started selling oil by switching to USDT, a digital currency also known as Tether, based on the US dollar and designed to stabilize the currency. The return of oil sanctions has accelerated PDVSA’s adoption of USDT to reduce the risk of sales proceeds being frozen in foreign bank accounts.
Pedro Telechea, Venezuela’s Oil Minister revealed that to Reuters last week “We have different currencies as indicated in the contracts,” he said, adding that in some contracts cryptocurrency may be the preferred method of payment.
The currency commonly used for oil trading in the world market is the US dollar. This is despite the growing use of digital currency for payments in some countries. But it still doesn’t happen very often.
Last year PDVSA was hit by a corruption scandal. This comes after it was discovered that the company had not recorded approximately $21 billion worth of trade receipts from oil exports over the past few years. Some of this money is related to PDVSA’s previous transactions involving cryptocurrencies other than USDT.
By the end of the first quarter, PDVSA had converted several spot market oil contracts that were not exchanged. It has moved to a contract model that requires upfront payment of half the value of each oil cargo in USDT.
In addition, one source said PDVSA is also requiring new customers wishing to transact oil to have crypto. In the digital wallet Such requirements are enforced even in some legacy contracts that do not clearly state the use of USDT.
Last October, the United States issued a six-month permit allowing PDVSA’s trading companies and existing customers to resume business with Venezuela. Most of these companies and customers rely on intermediaries to meet digital transaction requirements.
One trader addressed the unusual nature of paying for gas with cryptocurrency: “USDT transactions, as required by PDVSA, do not go through the compliance departments of any commercial companies, so the only way to make them work is Working with intermediaries”
Such a move has taken place. After the US government did not renew Venezuela’s oil embargo relief permit. Because President Nicolas Maduro, the leader of Venezuela He has failed to fulfill promises made in the electoral agreement supported by the United States last year.
The license expired on the morning of April 18, with the US Treasury Department announcing the issuance of a new license. This gives companies 45 days to cease operations in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector.
In recent months the US government has repeatedly warned Venezuela that it would reimpose energy sanctions. If President Maduro does not fulfill his promises in the electoral agreement between the Maduro government and the Venezuelan opposition,
One of the main concerns of the United States is the crackdown on political opponents of President Maduro. In particular, it prevented prominent opposition candidates such as Maria Corina Machado from running for president.
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