Overview
- The White House said the U.S. will keep seizing unauthorized tankers near Venezuela and will allow departures only for vessels it authorizes.
- Authorities have taken five tankers since December under the shadow‑fleet crackdown, against a sanctions backdrop that includes 416 OFAC‑listed entities.
- Commodity houses Vitol and Trafigura have begun negotiating March cargoes with refiners in India and China and have engaged state buyers such as PetroChina, with discounts discussed.
- Media reports say Washington and Caracas are finalizing a roughly $2 billion deal to free up to 50 million barrels stranded on ships and in storage for sale to U.S. and other buyers.
- Major oil companies remain wary due to legal and infrastructure risks and high breakeven costs, while S&P Global warns increased Venezuelan barrels for U.S. refineries could displace Canadian and Mexican heavy crude and face port bottlenecks.