U.S. completes Its first Venezuelan Oil sale after Maduro’s capture

Venezuelan crude oil prices have risen by around 30% since the United States completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil, as reported by the U.S. Energy Secretary, who noted that current sales are fetching higher prices compared with those under previous Venezuelan presidential arrangements.

Hence, Washington has finalized its first sale of Venezuelan oil, valued at approximately $500 million, with additional transactions expected in the coming days and weeks, according to a spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The proceeds from these oil sales are being held in bank accounts controlled by the U.S. government, and future exports could total tens of millions of barrels destined for U.S. markets. This approach represents a significant shift in U.S. policy toward Venezuela’s oil industry and comes as Washington seeks to redirect oil volumes previously sold to other buyers into the United States under terms it oversees.

Although Venezuela possesses the largest proven oil reserves in the world, around 303 billion barrels, years of chronic underinvestment and structural issues have severely weakened its oil industry, causing production to slump to roughly 800,000 barrels per day from a peak of about 3.5 million barrels per day in the 1990s.

Benedetta Zimone