China has bought some Venezuelan oil from the US, Chris Wright says

Published Thu, Feb 12, 2026 · 10:46 AM

[SINGAPORE] China has bought some Venezuelan oil that was purchased earlier by the US, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

“China has already bought some of the crude that’s been sold by the US government,” Wright said at a roundtable with media in Caracas, without giving details. “Legitimate Chinese business deals under legitimate business conditions” would be fine, he said, when asked about the possibility of joint ventures in the South American nation.

The global oil market was jolted in January when US forces swooped into Venezuela, seized former President Nicolas Maduro, with Washington asserting control over the Opec member’s crude industry. Since then, traders have been looking for signals about how the nation’s cargoes will be redirected, and how local production may be revived after years of neglect.

Refiners in China, the largest world’s oil importer, were the biggest buyers of Venezuelan crude before the US intervention, with the bulk of the imports bought by private processors. Given those flows were sanctioned, they were typically offered with deep discounts, making them attractive to local users.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not have an immediate comment on Wright’s statements.

In the aftermath of Maduro’s seizure, US President Donald Trump said Venezuela would turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US. The “interim authorities” would hand over “high-quality, sanctioned oil to the United States of America”, Trump said at the time in a post on Truth Social.

The Latin American country’s so-called “oil quarantine” was essentially over, Wright said.

In Asia, several Indian refiners have bought Venezuela’s flagship Merey crude following the US action, and the government has asked state-owned processors to consider buying more Venezuelan and US oil. Elsewhere, the grade has also made its way to other markets, including Israel. BLOOMBERG