Overview
- White House officials said only U.S.-authorized tankers may depart Venezuela and confirmed continued seizures of unauthorized or stateless vessels, with five tankers taken since December.
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the United States will control Venezuelan oil sales indefinitely, as reporting points to a plan to monetize stored barrels and a Washington–Caracas deal to sell up to 50 million barrels.
- Commodity houses Vitol and Trafigura have begun arranging March cargoes for Indian and Chinese refiners under U.S. authorization, with Vitol holding a preliminary 18‑month license to negotiate Venezuelan crude trade.
- Large oil companies remain cautious due to legal uncertainty, degraded infrastructure and security risks, with Exxon’s chief reportedly calling Venezuela “impossible to invest” under current conditions and analysts warning any output gains will take years.
- S&P Global Energy expects increased Venezuelan flows to U.S. refineries could displace Canadian and Mexican barrels, while constrained port and storage capacity in Venezuela poses near‑term export bottlenecks.