Oil prices fell on Wednesday amid expectations of a surge in supply after United States President Donald Trump said Venezuela would hand over up to 50 million barrels of crude to the US.
According to oilprice.com, Venezuela and the United States reached a deal under which authorities in the South American country would agree to export the oil valued at $2bn to the US.
Brent crude dropped below $60 per barrel on Wednesday evening after Trump said “interim authorities” in Venezuela would be providing 30 million to 50 million barrels of “high quality” oil to the US at market price, thought to be worth close to $2bn.
The agreement with the US-compliant leadership in Venezuela would boost the supply of heavy crude to US Gulf Coast refineries and potentially further curb illicit Venezuela shipments of cheap crude to China, Reuters noted.
Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA has been unable to ship oil cargoes to Asia for nearly a week, as the US “oil quarantine” of Venezuela continues, shipping data reviewed by Reuters showed on Tuesday.
Chevron is the only Western oil company currently authorised by the US Treasury to operate in Venezuela. Chevron ships the crude to the US Gulf Coast. Venezuelan shipments to Asia, however, are at a standstill, and China, the top oil customer of Venezuela, is getting lower volumes of crude.
It was learnt that Chinese oil buyers have reduced their intake of Venezuelan oil as the discount between Brent and the country’s flagship Merey crude shrank from $15 per barrel last month to $13 per barrel now, according to Bloomberg.
The price rise of Venezuelan oil follows the US naval blockade that has disrupted tanker traffic to and from Venezuela, and that is not about to be lifted anytime soon, as stated earlier this week by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The US is now looking to gain access to Venezuela’s crude, and Trump claimed on Tuesday that Venezuela would be “turning over” between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States.
President Trump has insisted that Venezuela’s interim Delcy Rodriguez give the US and private companies “total access” to the Venezuelan oil industry. The crude exports to the US could be drawn from floating storage that has piled up since the US initiated the naval blockade offshore Venezuela in the middle of December.
Venezuela entered 2026 amid heightened uncertainty after United States forces captured President Maduro and transferred him to the US alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, to face federal charges.
Maduro was subsequently brought before a US court, where prosecutors revived longstanding allegations, including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine trafficking offences. He has denied the charges.
Following the detention, Venezuela’s Supreme Court announced that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez had assumed office as Acting President, citing the need for institutional continuity. The political developments have placed renewed focus on the future of the country’s economy and its oil-dependent energy sector, even as Trump said the US would run the oil-rich country.
As Brent traded for $59.99 on Wednesday evening, WTI dropped to $56.10. There are projections that prices could dip further with more oil flowing into the US henceforth.
