Venezuela is sending its first shipment of crude mixed with Algerian light oil to China. Venezuela recently started importing Saharan Blend from Algerian to dilute its extra heavy crude from the Orinoco oil belt. PDVSA had previously imported costlier naphtha to use as a diluent. The Merey blend using Algerian oil fetches Venezuela $20 more per barrel than crude mixed with imported naphtha, according to Reuters.
