Venezuela oil barrels return: Vitol, Trafigura court India and China as Trump export plan takes shape

Vitol and Trafigura have begun talks with refiners in India and China to buy Venezuelan crude for March delivery, according to trade sources on Monday. These discussions mark some of the first serious moves by major traders to secure cargoes as Venezuela gears up to resume exports under a U.S.-supported program. One trader saw an offer pricing a cargo at an $8 to $8.50 per barrel discount to ICE Brent, the global benchmark, with delivery into Asia. The companies have reached out to Indian Oil and Hindustan Petroleum, and also contacted China’s PetroChina. Another source added that Vitol has already shipped a naphtha cargo expected to arrive at Venezuela’s Jose terminal on Jan. 28—a crucial step since this lighter fuel is used to dilute Venezuela’s heavy crude.