Iran sends second shipment of refinery chemicals to Venezuela

Reuters reported, citing three sources, that Iran has sent a second shipment of catalyst chemicals to Venezuela by plane to start up refineries.

Catalysts are chemicals used to produce gasoline and increase its octane.

Reuters reported on Friday, February 14, that the chemicals were sent by plane to the Paraguana refinery, which has a daily refining capacity of 955,000 barrels of oil.

Last year, Iran also sent chemicals via air to the Kardon refinery, which has a daily processing capacity of 310,000 barrels of oil.

Venezuelan refineries have been inoperable due to lack of capital and inefficient management, with the Cardon refinery only able to produce 60,000 barrels of gasoline per day.

Iran is trying to revive gasoline production at Venezuelan refineries by sending chemicals. In May of this year, Iranian specialists were also sent to Venezuela to carry out repairs at two refineries.

One of these refineries was Cardon, which suffered a fire in its catalytic cracking unit in July 2020, a month after the repair. The second refinery was El Palito, which Iranian experts tried to restart but failed.

Reuters reported that a Venezuelan Airlines plane loaded the catalysts from Tehran on Tuesday, February 10, and arrived in Venezuela the next day. Several more flights are expected to be needed to transport the rest of the catalysts.

The news agency also reported that Iran has sent three shipments of gasoline to Venezuela via tankers.

Iran has so far sent several shipments of gasoline to Venezuela, the first of which, with a volume of 1.5 million barrels, arrived in Venezuela in May of this year, and the second shipment, with a volume of 1.2 million barrels, was seized by the United States.

Iran has also sent two shipments of ultra-light oil to Venezuela, as Bloomberg News reported in December of this year that 10 Iranian tankers carrying oil products had left for Venezuela.

Meanwhile, the United States recently announced the seizure of a 2 million barrel shipment of Iranian oil bound for Venezuela.

The United States sold the seized gasoline cargo, and the country's Justice Department says it will also sell the oil cargo.

The money from these shipments will be deposited into the US State Terrorism Victims Support Fund.

Source: Radio Farda