Beyond Venezuela: Where does the oil the state imports come from?

MadridDonald Trump's latest decisions don't just target tariffs. The US president has also targeted oil, particularly oil bearing a Venezuelan stamp. Trump has revoked Repsol's and other oil companies' permits to export crude oil and derivatives from Venezuela to the rest of the world. The decision has activated diplomatic channels due to the potential economic impact it could have on the company chaired by Antoni Brufau. Last week, in the midst of the trade war, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares discussed the matter with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to ministry sources. In 2024, Repsol produced 67 million barrels per day in the country, with a significant portion of the crude supplied by the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA as payment in kind for the country's debt to the Spanish company. Its equity exposure in the country was €504 million, according to the financial report for that year. But to what extent does Trump's decision affect the arrival of oil to the country?

From the outset, it must be taken into account that Spain is 100% dependent on third countries to meet its oil demand. In June 2021, the Spanish government put an end to 60 years of crude oil production with Repsol's closure of the Casablanca platform off the coast of Tarragona. Official data on crude oil exports to Spain relate the volume of arrival to the country of departure, but the company is not identified due to confidential information. In any case, the main importers of crude oil to the Spanish government are those companies with refineries, according to sources in the energy sector, facilities that have come under scrutiny for their contribution to the climate crisis. These are Repsol, BP, and Moeve (formerly Cepsa). However, this does not mean that there are no other operators, according to the same sources, who highlight the role of the so-called traders or marketing companies, which are dedicated to the purchase and sale of raw materials such as oil.

Of all the supply sources, Venezuela is not among the main ones. In 2024, 3.006 billion tons of oil were imported from this country, according to data from the Strategic Reserves Corporation of Petroleum Products (CORE), which represents 4.6% of the total oil imported that year (64.588 billion tons). The importance of the Bolivarian country has been declining in recent years, far behind other countries. In fact, to find a similar amount of crude oil imported from Venezuela, one must go back to 2015.

Diversification

With the ban on Russian oil in 2023, the United States has consolidated its position as a source of supply. Last year, it led crude oil imports with 10.254 billion tons (Mt), according to the CORE registry, double the figure recorded just three years earlier. This not only highlights how oil from Russia has been displaced (according to the CORE registry, Spain last received oil in April 2022), but also the United States' race to increase production and displace traditional oil supply sources such as Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. In fact, in 2016, when Spain began importing US oil, the country accounted for only 0.81% of total crude oil purchases, at 522 million tons.

But in addition to Venezuela and the United States, in 2024 Spain received oil from 22 other countries. Geographically, the Americas stand out, importing 34.458 billion tons of crude oil, mainly from the United States, but also from Brazil (9.133 billion tons). These two countries are followed by Mexico and Canada.

As for Africa, 19.673 billion tons of oil were imported. Leading the way in imports are Nigeria (7.39 billion tons of crude oil), Angola (4.055 billion tons), and Libya (3.873 billion tons), but also Algeria and Equatorial Guinea. From the Middle East, oil purchases from this region reached 5.029 billion tons, distributed between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Years ago, Iran and Syria had played a significant role, which has since disappeared due to sanctions and embargoes. Finally, from countries in Europe and Eurasia, the CORE registry details that 5.029 billion tons of oil were imported, led by Kazakhstan and Norway. The weight of this region has fallen due to the disappearance of crude oil imports from Russia.

One of Spain's unique features regarding crude oil imports is its "flexibility to receive different types of crude oil due to its processing capacity," notes the Spanish Association of Petroleum Product Operators, which estimates that around thirty types of crude oil arrive in the country. "This diversification made it possible to replace crude oil when, for example, the import of petroleum products from Russia was banned in 2023 due to the invasion of Ukraine," explains industry sources. This, for example, allows Spain to export to other countries with problems regarding hydrocarbon refining.