Full details of the decision were not immediately clear. The move came around the same time Washington and Caracas brokered an agreement that saw the release of 10 Americans detained in Venezuela, while 250 Venezuelans who were imprisoned in El Salvador were returned to their home country.
After coming into office, the administration of President Donald Trump has eliminated licenses for oil companies to operate in Venezuela, despite initial hints that it would continue them, with presidential envoy Richard Grenell’s visits to Caracas. This means that sanctions on state-owned PDVSA are fully back on. Chevron, the main U.S. corporation on the ground, is back to having only a secret license for minimum maintenance and security, as it still a shareholder in four joint ventures.
The rebranding of the crude has cut transportation costs for Venezuelan crude and facilitated U.S. sanction circumvention, the report noted. Before, traders resorted to ship-to-ship transfer at sea to mask the crude but now they have taken to manipulating vessels’ location signals to make it look like they are travelling from Brazilian ports instead of Venezuelan ones, data from TankerTrackers.com has shown, per Reuters.
Venezuela saw its oil exports slump by nearly 20% in April from March to the lowest level in nine months, after state-owned oil firm PDVSA canceled cargoes for Chevron, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing shipping documents and tanker-tracking data.
In contrast to Vitol, which trades with Venezuela and doesn’t operate any assets there, those other companies produce oil and gas in the country and are winding down operations ahead of the expiry of licenses issued by the US Treasury. The deadline for all the companies, including Vitol, to cease operating is May 27.
Venezuelan oil contractors are continuing their work with Chevron Corp. and have not been warned of an impending shutdown despite a U.S. government deadline to stop producing oil there by early April.
Trinidad and Tobago plans to request an extension from the Trump administration for a US licence allowing Shell and National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) to develop Venezuela’s Dragon gas project, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Chevron is the only major oil producer with a waiver from the US government to operate in Venezuela despite sanctions against President Nicolás Maduro’s regime. The company produces about 20% of Venezuela’s oil and helped boost exports to a five-year high in 2024, nearing Maduro’s goal of 1 million barrels per day.
Indian refiners are expecting tankers of Venezuelan crude from Vitol, media reported on Tuesday, after Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) purchased 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude for November delivery. This is part of a broader trend, as India continues to increase imports from Venezuela after the U.S. Treasury allowed transactions under specific conditions despite ongoing sanctions targeting President Nicolas Maduro’s regime.
Crude oil prices continued to fall on Tuesday, with WTI trading just above $75 and Brent slipping below $80.
Concerns about Chinese demand continue to drag prices lower, with expectations of China’s manufacturing activity shrinking for a third month in a row.
In some bullish news, Venezuela’s election results could lead to tighter US sanctions and lower oil supply.