To Buy Venezuelan Oil, You’ll Need to Go Straight to Panama City
- Rosneft Panama helped to handle 70% of Venezuelan oil exports
- Russia’s state-controlled oil company is taking on larger role
This article is for subscribers only.
Buyers of Venezuelan crude used to visit the building across from Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s headquarters in Caracas. Not anymore.
Now, the place to go is a helix-shaped skyscraper popularly known as “The Screw,” in Panama City that houses a Rosneft Oil Co PJSC office, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The office, staffed by three oil traders, two of whom used to work for PDVSA, helped Rosneft to handle 70% of all oil exported by Venezuela in August, data compiled by Bloomberg show.