WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela will transfer 30 million to 50 million barrels of crude to the United States in a Venezuela oil deal valued at up to $2 billion that would redirect supplies away from China. Trump said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright will oversee shipments from tankers and storage stranded under a U.S. export blockade, Jan. 7, 2026.
The announcement follows the U.S. military’s weekend capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, an operation Venezuelan officials have denounced as a kidnapping. Venezuelan government officials and state oil company PDVSA did not immediately comment.
Venezuela oil deal: what was agreed
Trump said the crude will be taken from ships and storage tanks and sent directly to U.S. ports, a move aimed at preventing deeper production cuts as storage fills. He said the oil would be sold at market prices and that the proceeds would be controlled by the U.S. government. Possible sales mechanisms include auctions that would let U.S. buyers bid for cargoes, according to Reuters’ account of the negotiations.
Chevron is expected to handle the flow under a U.S. authorization and has been exporting about 100,000 to 150,000 barrels per day, Reuters reported. It remained unclear whether Venezuela would have access to proceeds because PDVSA is cut off from the global financial system under U.S. sanctions.
Oil prices fell after the announcement as traders weighed the prospect of additional supply. Brent crude slipped to about $59.89 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate to about $56.13 in early trading, Reuters reported in a market update.
Why the Venezuela oil deal matters for U.S. refiners and China
Venezuelan crude is a heavy grade that fits many refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast. U.S. officials told Reuters the region imported about 500,000 barrels per day from Venezuela before Washington first imposed energy sanctions, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said more heavy oil would be “great news” for U.S. jobs and fuel prices.
The shift could also squeeze China, which has been Venezuela’s top buyer in recent years and a destination for discounted cargoes. China accounted for more than half of Venezuela’s crude exports of 768,000 barrels per day last year, according to Kpler data cited in a Reuters analysis of the fallout for refiners and Beijing.
Sanctions timeline behind the Venezuela oil deal
Sanctions have repeatedly rerouted Venezuelan barrels. In a 2020 Reuters report, exports were shown to have fallen 32% in 2019 as markets tightened and buyers relied on intermediaries. The Biden administration later eased restrictions in an October 2023 update after an election deal, then said it would let broad relief lapse in an April 2024 report.
Washington has also targeted networks it says help move Venezuelan oil outside the rules. In a Dec. 31 Treasury Department press release, the department said it sanctioned four companies and identified four associated oil tankers for operating in Venezuela’s oil sector.
In the near term, the biggest questions are logistical and legal: how quickly stranded cargoes can be rerouted, whether auctions or new licenses are created, and how revenue from the Venezuela oil deal will be handled.
