Foreign firms in Venezuela offer new sources for oil imports

Big foreign oil producers in Venezuela are seeking to sell state-run PDVSA light crudes from countries like Nigeria and even the United States, aiming to better control the quality and cost of domestic blends and boost production from their Orinoco belt joint ventures, sources say. Earlier this year, Venezuela's PDVSA halted imports of costly naphtha, a type of light fuel that it had been using in recent years to dilute its extra heavy Orinoco crude. Instead, it began buying Saharan Blend crude produced in Algeria, an OPEC ally of Venezuela, to make blends that fetch better prices. But the sources said other varieties could be more affordable, especially crudes from the United States that would carry lower shipping costs, or ones from West Africa that are being sold at deep discounts. More…