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By Editorial Dept - Sep 18, 2026, 7:30 AM CDT Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Poland's state-controlled refiner, Orlen, lost $230 million on a Venezuelan crude deal the moment it wired the money with no collateral and no bank guarantee. Orlen's Swiss trading arm signed a $345 million contract with Dubai-based Hannon International on November 29, 2023, for six million barrels of Venezuelan crude, and sent the $230 million advance within five days, after Orlen's Swiss-unit chief, Samer Awad, met Hannon's 25-year-old founder on a yacht at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Formula 1 weekend. US sanctions had locked Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, out of dollar banking, so the advance moved as Tether instead: brokers in Caracas received USB drives holding tens of millions of dollars in it, one drive at a time.
One $135 million conversion returned $85 million; the missing $50 million sits in a UAE court proceeding. Six chartered tankers waited off Venezuela for months and left empty, adding $72 million in shipping costs. PDVSA says it loaded no oil because it was never paid.
Polish prosecutors put total losses at 1.6 billion z?oty, roughly $424 million, and indicted three former Orlen executives on August 7 over $378 million of that, with charges carrying up to 25 years. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the reporting "a disgrace in front of the entire world." The State Department approved a $24.3B sale of 48 F-35s to Saudi Arabia Thursday, along with 49 engines and support equipment, making Riyadh the first Arab country... COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP (FREE) GLOBAL ENERGY ALERT ( $697 $279 PER YEAR) Breaking energy stories before they hit the mainstream media Top quality analysis from industry veterans Exclusive investment opportunities Digestible data breakdowns Geopolitical insights from our network of over 600 operatives Risk-free 30-day money back guarantee
