Venezuela's oil ministry, PDVSA and Maroil did not reply to requests for comment.
PETCOKE MOUNTAINSIn Jose, two heavy oil upgrading projects controlled by PDVSA, Petro San Felix and Petrocedeno, produce and store petroleum coke.
SANCTION SCRAMBLEIndian firms this year have been big buyers of Venezuelan petcoke as the Asian nation looks for inexpensive fuel to power industries amid high coal prices.
read moreShimsupa GmBH, a Germany-headquartered trading firm, has an exclusive arrangement with Maroil to sell Venezuelan petcoke in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the company said.
Resellers of Venezuelan petcoke originally supplied by Maroil say the cargoes are free of penalties since, as opposed to PDVSA, Maroil has not been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department.