Washington: Venezuela has reached an agreement to export oil to the United States, marking a significant development in the international oil trade. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Venezuela and the United States have reached a landmark agreement for the export of up to $2 billion worth of crude oil to the U.S., a strategic move aimed at diverting oil supply away from China and preventing Venezuela from having to further reduce its oil production.
According to Thai News Agency, President Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media platform, that Venezuela would deliver between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil that were previously subject to sanctions to the United States. This oil would be sold at market price, and he, as president, would oversee the funds to ensure they were used for the benefit of both Venezuelans and Americans.
Furthermore, he assigned U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright to urgently implement this plan, which involves transporting oil directly from tankers to various ports in the United States. This delivery of the stranded oil may require altering the originally planned shipping route to China, which has been Venezuela's largest customer over the past decade.
The agreement is a clear signal that the Venezuelan government is responding to President Trump's demands to allow access to U.S. oil companies, otherwise it faces the risk of further military intervention. Trump stated that he wanted Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, to grant full access to Venezuela's oil industry to the U.S. and private companies.
Venezuela currently has millions of barrels of oil stranded in tankers and storage facilities because it has been unable to export them due to a blockade imposed by the Trump administration since mid-December. This measure was part of increased pressure on President Nicol¡s Maduro's government, leading to the US military's arrest of Maduro last weekend. Some senior Venezuelan officials have called this a kidnapping and accused the US of trying to steal the country's oil reserves.
Sources in the oil industry commented that Mr. Trump wanted the deal to happen quickly so he could declare it a major victory. Following the announcement, US crude oil prices immediately dropped by more than 1.5 percent as the market anticipated a greater influx of oil from Venezuela into the United States.
Currently, the flow of this oil is controlled by Chevron, a key joint venture partner of PDVSA, Venezuela's national oil company, with permission from the U.S. government. Chevron is the only company that has continued to transport oil without interruption in recent weeks despite the U.S. lockdown measures.