President Donald Trump said that the United States welcomes investment by China and India in Venezuela‘s oil industry, signaling a shift in global energy flows following Washington’s takeover of Venezuelan oil sales after the capture of former authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro.
“China is welcome to come in and will make a great deal on oil,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-Lago. He added that the administration is working with India on a deal involving Venezuelan crude. “India’s coming in and they’re going to be buying Venezuelan oil, as opposed to buying it from Iran,” Trump said. “We’ve already made the deal, the concept of that deal.”
The comments, reported by Bloomberg, come days after Venezuela’s interim government approved sweeping changes to its nationalist oil framework, lowering taxes and allowing greater foreign ownership. Shortly afterward, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a general license expanding the ability of U.S. firms to export, sell and refine Venezuelan crude.
The United States is now poised to import the largest volume of Venezuelan oil in a year, largely through Chevron, which holds a license to market sanctioned crude. Trading firms Vitol and Trafigura are also lifting Venezuelan barrels under U.S.-brokered arrangements, with Bloomberg data showing the two companies on track to move about 14 million barrels.
At the same time, shipments to China have collapsed. Venezuelan exports to China, which averaged about 400,000 barrels per day last year, fell to zero in January amid a U.S. naval effort targeting vessels used to transport sanctioned oil. Chinese independent refiners have instead turned to discounted Iranian crude to replace Venezuelan supply, according to sources cited by Reuters.
During a Senate hearing last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized China’s longstanding oil relationship with Venezuela, saying Beijing had benefited from opaque financing arrangements while insulating itself from risk. Rubio argued that the U.S. strategy aims to bring Venezuelan oil sales into “transparent, accountable markets” rather than allow revenues to flow through what he described as opaque state-to-state deals.
Indian refiners, meanwhile, have received limited offers of Venezuelan crude, as much of the available supply has been directed toward U.S. and European markets. Executives told Reuters last week that discounts have been insufficient to justify purchases, though some firms are exploring small-scale arrangements.
Trump has said the United States intends to oversee Venezuelan oil sales for the foreseeable future, as Washington presses foreign companies to invest in rebuilding the country’s energy infrastructure and reshapes the global market for Venezuelan crude.
Originally published on Latin Times
