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Venezuela can’t pay for the equipment needed to dredge a coastal lagoon that’s key to oil exports, slowing Chevron (New York Stock Exchange: CVXBloomberg reported Friday) that plan to increase shipments from the country.
The government sent a letter to the Dutch shipbuilder Royal IHC said it would not be able to pay for dredging equipment to extract Lake Maracaibo due to economic sanctions, according to a report.
Chevron (CVX) has asked Venezuela to clean up the lagoon, which has become choked with silt, so its ships are not sidetracked as it pushes to increase shipments to 500,000 barrels per shipment, compared to 300,000 per shipment in April.
Chevron (CVX) has been gradually increasing oil production in Venezuela after the United States eased restrictions on operating there late last year.
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