Petroleos de Venezuela SA signage in Caracas, Venezuela. (Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg)
January 20, 2026 3:35 PM, EST
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The US government plans to allow more trading companies beyond Vitol Group and Trafigura Group to purchase Venezuelan crude, a Trump administration official said.
The pending authorization, expected to involve a general license easing existing sanctions, would require all Venezuelan oil supply deals to pass through the U.S. market, the official said.
The decision marks a shift from the approach used for as much as 50 million barrels of oil in an initial tranche of Venezuelan deliveries after the U.S. captured President Nicolás Maduro. That oil had built up in storage tanks and vessels over several weeks under a partial U.S. blockade imposed before Maduro’s Jan. 3 apprehension.
Vitol and Trafigura may now face competition in a potentially lucrative trade, as U.S. refiners consider buying Venezuelan oil directly from state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA.
A broader license would likely help accelerate the decongestion of Venezuelan ports and storage tanks, enabling some oil wells that had been suspended to gradually restart production.
Written by Patricia Garip, Eric Martin and Jennifer A. Dlouhy
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