CARACAS, Jan 7, 2026, 13:54 (VET)
The Trump administration will start moving Venezuelan crude to the United States immediately, shipping an initial 30 million to 50 million barrels and keeping sales running indefinitely, a senior Trump administration official said on Wednesday. The official said Washington would selectively ease sanctions to help keep Venezuelan crude and refined products flowing to global markets.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright framed the oil as leverage after U.S. forces seized President Nicolas Maduro at the weekend. “We need to have that leverage and that control of those oil sales,” he told a Goldman Sachs energy conference in Miami. Wright said the United States would market stored barrels first, then future production, with revenues deposited in accounts controlled by the U.S. government. Reuters
Trump said on Tuesday that Caracas and Washington had agreed on exports worth up to $2 billion, a deal that would divert cargoes from China and ease a mid-December blockade that left millions of barrels sitting on tankers and in tanks. Chevron is currently the only U.S. company authorised to export Venezuelan crude, shipping about 100,000 to 150,000 barrels per day, while PDVSA remains locked out of the dollar system, with its accounts frozen. Traders pegged Venezuela’s flagship Merey heavy crude at about $22 a barrel below Brent, and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum called bigger Gulf Coast flows “great news” for jobs and fuel prices. Reuters
The U.S. backed the pressure with muscle at sea, seizing the Marinera — formerly the Bella-1 — near Iceland after pursuing it for more than two weeks, U.S. officials said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote that the blockade of “sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil” remained “in FULL EFFECT” worldwide. The Coast Guard also intercepted another Venezuela-linked tanker on Wednesday that commanders described as a “dark fleet” vessel — shorthand for ships used to move sanctioned cargoes. Reuters
Stephen Miller, the deputy White House chief of staff, said “the only maritime energy transport allowed” would be that consistent with U.S. law and national security. China’s foreign ministry accused Washington of bullying as it pushes Venezuela’s main buyer to switch barrels. Reuters
Oil fell on Tuesday as traders weighed the prospect of more Venezuelan supply against a wider glut: Brent, the global benchmark, settled at $60.70 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at $57.13. “It is premature to evaluate the impact” of Maduro’s capture on balances, said Tamas Varga at PVM Oil. Rystad Energy analyst Janiv Shah estimated only about 300,000 barrels per day of extra supply over the next two to three years on limited spending. Reuters
In Asia, traders expect China’s independent refiners — known as “teapots” — to lean harder on other sanctioned crude, including Iranian Heavy, as Venezuelan loadings thin. “The Venezuela drama hits China’s independent refineries the hardest,” Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh said, but she pointed to ample Russian and Iranian feedstocks. Kpler senior analyst Xu Muyu said Venezuelan crude already on ships in Asia could cover roughly 75 days of Chinese demand, buying time for refiners to pivot to Iran, Russia or non-sanctioned exporters such as Canada. Reuters
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. plan is to stabilise Venezuela, move to a recovery phase that gives American and other companies access, then oversee a transition. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy called it “an insane plan” and said it amounted to stealing oil “at gunpoint” to micromanage the country. Reuters
But market watchers cautioned against reading the initial volumes as a flood. “The volumes are quite small in a larger context,” SEB commodities analyst Ole Hvalbye said, comparing the 30–50 million barrels with the 413 million barrels held in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the government’s emergency stockpile. BMI analysts at Fitch Solutions said cheap Venezuelan exports could curb investment elsewhere, and warned prices could rise over the medium term if the Venezuelan regime survives. Reuters
In Caracas, acting president Delcy Rodriguez declared seven days of mourning for military personnel killed in the U.S. raid that captured Maduro, with the government putting losses at around two dozen officers. Cuba said 32 of its military and police working in Venezuela also died.
