Trump says Venezuela will deliver up to 50 million barrels of oil

LondonFirst payment to the new leader From Venezuela. Donald Trump asserted late Tuesday that the Caribbean nation will send the United States "between 30 and 50 million barrels" of high-quality oil. Considering current prices for West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark crude in the United States, the volume could reach a value exceeding $2.8 billion, according to Bloomberg. The state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) confirmed Wednesday that it is in negotiations with the U.S. government to sell "volumes" of crude oil to the United States. However, it did not specify the exact amount.

"This oil will be sold at the market price, and that money will be under my control, as President of the United States of America, to ensure that it is used for the benefit of the people of Venezuela and the United States. I have instructed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this shipping plan directly and immediately to U.S. unloading docks," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The attitude of the US president is not at all different from that displayed by Hugo Chávez during his years in power, when he would stroll through Caracas, point out buildings, and decree their immediate expropriation. In this case, it is a seizure under threat of further military interventions.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt clarified that the crude oil Caracas has agreed to transfer to Washington for sale includes "sanctioned" oil and oil "on board ships," and assured that the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez "has agreed to release it." She also said that Washington has already begun selling Venezuelan crude on the global market.

Subsidies to oil companies

Trump's announcement adds to his remarks made Monday on NBC News in a phone interview: "Having an oil-producing Venezuela is good for the United States because it keeps oil prices down." According to data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Venezuela produced just under one million barrels per day in 2024 (the last year for which data is available). At its peak production in the mid-1990s, it extracted between 3 and 3.5 million barrels per day. Representatives from major U.S. oil companies are scheduled to meet with the Trump administration this week, according to CBS. In this regard, the U.S. president suggested early Tuesday morning that the United States could subsidize oil companies to invest in Venezuela, with the aim of taking advantage of its enormous crude oil reserves, the largest in the world, estimated by OPEC at 303 billion barrels.

In the same interview with NBC, Trump stated that the country's oil industry could have new operations "up and running" within 18 months. "I think we can do it in less time, but it's going to cost a lot of money. A huge amount of money will have to be spent, and the oil companies are going to spend it, and then we'll reimburse them through revenue."

On the other hand, various analysts consulted by the BBC assert that Trump's plans will not have a significant impact on the global supply (and therefore, the price) of oil.

Impact for China

The delivery of between 30 and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the United States would divert supplies from China, according to Reuters. This demand on the new government in Caracas is a clear sign of the Republican administration's intentions: to open Venezuela up to US oil companies to avoid further military intervention. It is also a provocation to China. In fact, in recent hours the US government reportedly informed interim president Delcy Rodríguez that the country must sever relations with China, as well as with Russia, Iran, and Cuba, as part of a series of demands before extracting and selling more oil, according to officials.quoted by ABC NewsAfter severing "economic ties" with these countries, Caracas should also agree to partner exclusively with the United States in oil production and favor them when exporting crude. According to ABC News, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told lawmakers in a private briefing on Monday that, without selling its oil reserves, Venezuela has only a couple of weeks left before becoming financially insolvent. According to Reuters, Venezuela has millions of barrels of oil loaded onto tankers and in storage tanks that it has been unable to ship to Beijing due to the export embargo imposed by the White House since mid-December. The Asian country has been Caracas's main buyer for the past decade, especially since the United States imposed sanctions on companies involved in oil trade with the government of Nicolás Maduro.