Jamaica has so far not received any contact from Venezuela regarding crude oil supplies, despite a temporary suspension of US sanctions that lifts most restrictions on the South American country’s oil exports for six months.

Despite the apparent silence towards Jamaica, the Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA is reportedly reaching out to customers with crude supply contracts following the temporary relief from sanctions.

Wayne Chen, chairman of Petrojam, Jamaica’s oil refinery, confirmed that there has been no outreach from Venezuela.

“Petrojam has not been approached,” he verified. “I don’t know if any private company [in the US] has been approached, but we certainly haven’t,” he said in response to Jamaica Observer queries.

The US on Wednesday lifted most restrictions on Venezuela for six months for producing, selling and exporting oil to its chosen markets. The broad relaxation of sanctions imposed since 2019 following an election that Washington considered a sham will allow some Venezuelan crude to flow to customers previously barred from transactions.

With current oil output averaging 780,000 barrels per day Venezuela will be eager to increase its cash flow through the licence issued by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). However, PDVSA’s trading division has lost experienced staff as a result of low salaries, which could delay or hamper new export deals in this six-month window of opportunity.

This chance for Venezuela also offers a prospect for Jamaica, as Caribbean nations would regain access to Venezuelan oil at discounted prices. However, Jamaica’s support in the recent past for the greater part of US foreign policy towards Venezuela might well be a major stumbling block to an oil agreement. And the current silence between the two countries on a potential deal could be interpreted as an impasse.

But José Sánchez-Vegas, charge d’affaires of the Venezuelan Embassy in Jamaica, is seemingly leaving the door open to renew co-operation.

“Venezuela has never been away from the people of Jamaica, Sanchez told Sunday Finance, though he didn’t elaborate on what that statement meant.

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz offered no new insight into the possibility of an arrangement with Venezuela, either.

“My ministry is guided by the foreign policy direction determined by the ministry of foreign affairs,” the minister stated. “No decisions will be made without the guidance and direction of them. As of now we have no new position from the foreign affairs ministry.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith has been on an overseas trip with the prime minister and could not be reached for comment.

Chairman of Petrojam Wayne Chen refrained from commenting on matters of foreign policy which do not fall under his purview but remarked that “certainly if the Government was to look favourably on trading with Venezuela, it would be something we would always keep under consideration because the refinery was built with specifications to match Venezuelan crude”.

“Since we had stopped buying from Venezuela, we get primarily from Brazil, Ecuador and, I believe, Colombia, but primarily Brazil and Ecuador, because of the sulfur content,” he added. “But certainly it’s something we would look at favourably once Government approves a resumption of trade with Venezuela.”

The Government of Jamaica has not made any public statements regarding the recent lifting of sanctions on Venezuela and the impact on oil supply. However, officials have previously expressed concerns about the volatility of global oil prices and the need for energy security.

As Venezuela tries to regain its position as a major oil supplier in the Caribbean, Jamaica’s response will be closely watched. The country’s decision to diversify its sources of oil has made it less vulnerable to supply disruptions, but it remains to be seen how it will respond to Venezuela’s renewed outreach efforts, if that country contacts the island for supply contracts.

Since November, when Washington authorised Chevron to expand its joint ventures with PDVSA and export Venezuelan crude to the US, that agreement and a few others provided PDVSA’s only access to Western markets.

Those agreements, however, are limited to debt repayment deals, so little cash is reaching PDVSA’s coffers, constraining its ability to expand oil production and exports.

China is Venezuela’s main oil export market, receiving some 430,000 barrels per day of crude fuel this year, according to tanker tracking data. Before the sanctions, India and the US were other top destinations.

Before sanctions, PDVSA also had oil supply contracts with US oil refiners and European firms. It was not immediately clear which of those oil supply contracts remain unexpired and could be quickly renewed.