Even if they may want to honor the deal...can they ?
Their production is down and dropping due to limited spare parts and few knowledgeable oil workers.
The crude for these refineries was the lowest value available but Citgo always got top dollar in the US because it was a very useful product for paving and roofing asphalt. Venz asphalt historically commanded the highest price in the roofing industry (to make shingles & built up roofing) vs. any other product. It is painful for me to see Hugo dump this crude oil into a blended product and take it to China (thru the Panama Canal) and take a $10-$15 bbl hickey (less than he could get in the port of Houston or Mobile,) because of the additional freight. The Venz people don’t understand this.