Venezuela is the programme where commodity barter appears most clearly in the public record. Restrictions on the state oil company’s dealings created settlement problems that were addressed, in documented instances, through arrangements that did not use the banking system.
Gold
Venezuela is also a significant gold producer, and gold’s role as a settlement asset in a restricted economy is more visible here than in most programmes. The analytical approach set out on the commodity barter page — comparing declared exports against national production capacity — applies directly.
Blending
Petroleum-specific restrictions create the same origin question that arises under the Iran and Russia programmes, and the same countermeasure: cargo whose documented origin has been changed in transit.