Venezuela
Distressed fertilizer-producer Monómeros Colombo-Venezolanos, the Colombian subsidiary of Venezuelan state-owned Pequiven, has filed for bankruptcy protection on the heels of a regulatory intervention, Argus Media reported. Colombian corporate regulator SuperSociedades is expected to accept the company into a reorganization process that would lead to an "expedited rescue plan." The strategic company supplies about 40pc of the Colombian market.
Millions of barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude, embargoed by the U.S., have been surreptitiously going to China, Bloomberg News reported. The cat-and-mouse games that avoid detection and sanctions include ship-to-ship transfers, shell companies and silenced satellite signals. But there’s another aspect to the dodge. It involves “doping” the oil with chemical additives and changing its name in the paperwork so it can be sold as a wholly different crude without a trace of its Venezuelan roots.