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US to Expand Venezuela Oil Access for Traders, Refiners
Decision Marks Shift From Approach Used for Oil in Initial Batch of Venezuelan Deliveries After the US Capture of Maduro
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The U.S. government plans to allow more trading companies beyond Vitol Group and Trafigura Group to purchase Venezuelan crude, a Trump administration official said.
The pending authorization, expected to involve a general license easing existing sanctions, would require all Venezuelan oil supply deals to pass through the U.S. market, the official said.
The decision marks a shift from the approach used for as much as 50 million barrels of oil in an initial tranche of Venezuelan deliveries after the U.S. captured President Nicolás Maduro. That oil had built up in storage tanks and vessels over several weeks under a partial U.S. blockade imposed before Maduro’s Jan. 3 apprehension.
Vitol and Trafigura may now face competition in a potentially lucrative trade, as U.S. refiners consider buying Venezuelan oil directly from state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA and potentially other parties.
A broader license would likely help accelerate the decongestion of Venezuelan ports and storage tanks, enabling some oil wells that had been suspended to gradually restart production. Vitol has recently loaded its first cargo from shore-based storage tanks.
U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to enlist American oil companies to revive Venezuelan crude production, though industry leaders and analysts have cautioned any significant boost would take years and tens of billions of dollars. In the meantime, quicker flows of oil away from the country could aid in getting more wells pumping again, even with existing infrastructure.
Crude oil exports, Venezuela’s main source of revenue, started falling in the weeks before U.S. forces captured Maduro. The decline occurred as the shadowy companies that had been moving cargoes to Asian markets retreated amid a heavy American naval presence and a string of U.S. tanker seizures.
With the exception of Chevron Corp., the only company with a U.S. license to pump Venezuelan oil, the country had previously relied on dark-fleet tankers to export its crude, with most flows heading to China, a key market for bitumen-rich grades such as Merey. Cargoes are now reaching a wider range of destinations, including Indian and U.S. Gulf Coast refiners.
The U.S. has continued its crackdown on the global shadow fleet, nabbing another oil tanker last week. That brings the total to six ships taken in a little over a month, both before and after Maduro’s arrest.
Written by Patricia Garip, Eric Martin and Jennifer A. Dlouhy
