U.S. Courts Traders to Market Venezuelan Oil as Meeting With Majors Nears

Overview

• Vitol and Trafigura are in talks with the U.S. administration about marketing Venezuelan crude, according to Reuters sources.
• U.S. officials plan to meet Friday at the White House with commodity traders and leading U.S. oil companies.
• Financial Times reports that Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips want strong legal and financial guarantees before investing in Venezuela.
• The Washington Post reports U.S. officials believe Venezuela could run out of funds within weeks without cooperation and are pressing for a break with Russia, China, Iran and Cuba in favor of an exclusive U.S. partnership.
• The Wall Street Journal has reported the administration is exploring moves to assert control over PDVSA to influence oil prices and curb Russian and Chinese roles.