$230 Million Lost as Polish Refiner's Venezuelan Crude Deal Goes Sour
The Polish state-controlled refiner Orlen lost $230 million on a Venezuelan crude deal due to a series of unfortunate events. The company's Swiss trading arm signed a $345 million contract with Dubai-based Hannon International for six million barrels of Venezuelan crude on November 29, 2023. Within five days, Orlen wired the $230 million advance to Hannon without any collateral or bank guarantee.
As US sanctions had locked Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA out of dollar banking, the advance was made in Tether instead. The conversion of $135 million Tether returned only $85 million, leaving a missing $50 million that is now being disputed in a UAE court proceeding.
The six chartered tankers waiting off Venezuela for months left empty, adding $72 million in shipping costs. PDVSA claims it loaded no oil because it was never paid. Polish prosecutors have put total losses at 1.6 billion z?oty (approximately $424 million) and indicted three former Orlen executives on August 7 over $378 million of that.
Meanwhile, the US State Department has approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35s to Saudi Arabia, along with 49 engines and support equipment, making Riyadh the first Arab country to acquire the advanced fighter jets.