Top Traders Begin Venezuela Oil Sales with U.S. Blessing

U.S. Takes Historic Control of Venezuelan Oil Operations

In a dramatic shift in American foreign policy, the Trump administration has asserted unprecedented control over Venezuela's petroleum resources following a special forces raid that captured President Nicolás Maduro in early January 2026. This marks the first time the United States has directly managed another nation's oil industry, fundamentally reshaping the geopolitical landscape of Latin America's energy sector. The move represents an extraordinary expansion of U.S. influence, with government officials now determining which oil tankers can depart Venezuelan ports, where they may land, and how the resulting revenues will be managed. Administration officials have framed this intervention as a stabilizing measure designed to help Venezuela recover from decades of economic mismanagement while simultaneously advancing American energy and foreign policy objectives.

The U.S. government has implemented a comprehensive framework for controlling Venezuelan oil revenues through executive action. President Trump issued Executive Order 14373 in mid-January, declaring that attempts to access Venezuelan oil revenues represent an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. Under this order, all Venezuelan oil proceeds are being held in accounts controlled by the U.S. government, with the Treasury Department granted broad authority to regulate any transfers or dealings with these funds. The framework centralizes power in Treasury, working in consultation with the Departments of State and Energy, allowing the administration to license specific transactions that align with American strategic objectives. This arrangement essentially places Venezuelan oil wealth under American custodial management indefinitely, according to administration officials overseeing the initiative.

Chevron Positioned as Primary American Energy Partner

Chevron stands as the only U.S. oil company currently operating in Venezuela, a position that places the energy giant at the center of the Trump administration's ambitious expansion plans. The company is currently producing between 200,000 and 240,000 barrels per day through established joint ventures, making it the dominant American presence in the Venezuelan oil sector. According to administration projections, Chevron expects to increase production by 50 percent over the next two years, potentially reaching approximately 360,000 barrels per day. This expansion would generate an estimated 400 to 700 million dollars in additional annual cash flow for the company, representing a modest percentage of its overall operational revenue but significant in the context of Venezuelan energy output. Other major American oil companies, including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, have publicly stated that Venezuela remains uninvestable without fundamental legal and political reforms, effectively ceding the field to Chevron's operations.

The administration has actively courted major oil companies to invest in Venezuela's deteriorating infrastructure, claiming potential investments could reach 100 billion dollars with rapid production increases. Industry experts, however, have presented a significantly more cautious assessment, projecting that restoring production to historical levels would require investments exceeding 183 billion dollars and multi-year timelines. The consensus among petroleum analysts suggests that modest production increases of 300,000 to 350,000 barrels per day are realistic targets, substantially lower than the administration's more optimistic projections. Chevron's planned expansion aligns more closely with these conservative estimates than with administration rhetoric. The company is currently seeking an expanded U.S. license to trade Venezuelan state oil company output and sell to third parties, moves that would require Treasury Department approval under the new executive order framework.

Price Targets and Economic Strategy Drive Policy

A central motivation for the Trump administration's intervention in Venezuela is achieving dramatic reductions in global oil prices. President Trump has publicly stated a target price of 50 dollars per barrel, down from current levels around 56 to 58 dollars. Administration officials argue that increased Venezuelan oil production, directed primarily toward American markets, will drive down domestic energy prices and provide political benefits heading into the midterm election cycle. The strategy explicitly aims to increase U.S. leverage by controlling both the volume and destination of Venezuelan oil exports, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasizing that America can use this control to compel behavioral changes in Caracas. according to one administration official speaking on condition of anonymity regarding policy strategy.

The president and his team are carefully crafting each deal to stabilize Venezuela and re-route oil profits back to the Venezuelan people to help their country recover from decades of mismanagement,

However, this unprecedented arrangement raises significant questions about oversight and potential for mismanagement. Former U.S. officials have drawn uncomfortable parallels to the Iraq reconstruction effort, where the United States struggled to track billions of dollars in funds and faced accusations of waste and corruption. Unlike Iraq, where the Coalition Provisional Authority maintained on-the-ground management, the Trump administration is working with Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's former vice president, who faced U.S. sanctions in 2018 over allegations of corruption and drug trafficking connections. The Treasury Department has declined to provide detailed comments about the current arrangement, while the State Department has similarly refused to clarify specifics regarding fund management and oversight mechanisms. This lack of transparency has concerned observers who worry about the potential for waste, corruption, or mismanagement of Venezuelan oil revenues.

Several American Gulf Coast refineries stand to benefit substantially from increased Venezuelan heavy crude imports. These facilities are well-positioned to process the specific crude grades produced in Venezuela, and expanded imports would strengthen their operational economics. The administration's strategy explicitly targets U.S. refineries as the primary market for Venezuelan oil, ensuring that increased production directly impacts domestic fuel prices rather than flooding global markets. Initial plans involve transferring 30 to 50 million barrels to the United States as the foundation of this energy relationship. Long-term management would position the U.S. Navy to determine which tankers can depart Venezuelan ports and establish U.S. government control over the dispensation of oil revenues in Treasury accounts.

The Trump administration's takeover of Venezuela's oil industry represents a dramatic expansion of American power projection in Latin America's energy sector. By controlling production, pricing, and revenue management, Washington has created a new model for asserting influence over another nation's most valuable resources. The strategy explicitly integrates fossil fuel expansion into broader foreign policy objectives, using oil as a tool to reshape regional politics and global energy markets. Whether this arrangement proves sustainable and beneficial to Venezuelans, or becomes another cautionary tale of foreign intervention and resource extraction, remains an open question as traders begin resuming Venezuelan oil sales under American government blessing.