Venezuela Reopening
Overview
The lifting of US sanctions on Venezuela has triggered a new flow of Venezuelan crude into the US Gulf. These grades are being sold by merchant traders on a “delivered US Gulf” basis. Oil produced in Venezuela is heavy, sour, and asphalt-rich, and requires specialised refining units, such as cokers, for full processing. US Gulf coast refineries were built for this purpose, and have the appetite to process large volumes of these crudes.
Argus has launched three new price assessments for Venezuelan crude oil to better reflect the new market. Effective Monday, 9 February, Argus assesses Merey, Hamaca, and Boscan, all on a “delivered US Gulf” basis. See key price pages for more details.
Price assessment details
Argus Merey del USGC
While offers have emerged for Venezuelan crudes in India, Asia and Europe, trades for Merey have only been completed in the USGC, where multiple refiners have purchased cargoes of the grade. Transactions have occurred on a delivered USGC basis and against the Ice Brent pricing benchmark, which is widely used to price Latin American grades on the water.
Argus Boscan del USGC and Argus Hamaca del USGC
Due to a current lack of liquidity for these two grades, Argus prices will initially be assessed on the basis of other market information for similar grades in the region, general tendencies in the sour markets around the USGC and quality spreads to Merey, which are widely discussed by market participants and are relatively stable. Should activity for these grades pick up, Argus will also take into consideration any bids, offers and deals that emerge in the spot market to further inform the assessments.
Expectations are that sales will remain concentrated around the USGC on an Ice Brent basis for the foreseeable future. Argus will also publish an equivalent differential for all three Venezuelan grades against the Argus WCS Houston price, given Venezuela crude is a close alternative to Canadian supplies, and more specifically WCS. This WCS basis price will allow for hedging as there are actively traded futures swaps based on the Argus WCS Houston price on both major exchanges. These financial contracts settle on the month average of Argus WCS Houston daily published prices.
Related news and analysis
Venezuelan investment prospects may be looking up
Venezuelan investment prospects may be looking up
Caracas, 16 March (Argus) — Venezuela suddenly appears more investment-worthy, with prolonged US attacks on Iran roiling crude markets. Some US oil firms held off endorsing President Donald Trump's idea of pouring money into Venezuela in the wake of the US' capture of President Nicolas Maduro on 3 January. ExxonMobil called Venezuela "uninvestable" then. Now that the same US aircraft carrier that supported the Maduro operation is embroiled offshore Iran, crude prices are soaring and supply is pinched, ExxonMobil is suddenly starting to look at getting "boots on the ground" in Venezuela , with its massive reserves of mostly heavy crude. While the extent of the war and its effects on oil markets is uncertain, the outlook has prompted a fresh look at reserves and the scope to ramp up production in Venezuela. Chevron — for years the last US company standing there — had already said it wants to increase its Venezuelan output of 250,000 b/d by about 50pc within two years, with a particular focus on the Ayacucho 8 oil block. And less than a week after the attacks in Iran began, Shell signed deals with Venezuela to reactivate oil fields and explore for gas deposits. Few details were disclosed, but Shell has long been working to develop Venezuela's offshore Dragon gas field, adjacent to the border with Trinidad and Tobago. French firm Maurel & Prom in late February brought its first drilling rig in eight years to Venezuela's conventional crude-producing region of Lake Maracaibo, the company said on 11 March in Caracas. The US in mid-February lifted restrictions on Maurel & Prom's oil and gas operations in Venezuela, where it had been working before stricter US sanctions were imposed last year. Italy's Eni and Spain's Repsol also plan to boost output in the country. The state-controlled oil company of neighbouring Colombia, Ecopetrol, is also seeking multiple waivers to do more business with Venezuela, and already has one for its Houston office to trade Venezuelan crude. Sustained higher prices would also prompt Ecopetrol to increase its oil production and capital investment targets for 2026 overall, chief executive Ricardo Roa told investors. Power struggle Oil services giants Schlumberger and Halliburton have said they are eager to return to Venezuela. Baker Hughes has taken a more cautious stance, wary of electricity shortages and other challenges. Industry participants inside the country note the same bottlenecks. Venezuela could reasonably reach output of 1.4mn b/d in 2026, up by roughly 300,000 b/d from now, based on announced investment plans and US sanctions waivers, Venezuelan oil business association president Reinaldo Quintero estimates. But pushing beyond 2mn b/d would require at least 2,000MW of additional power capacity, he says. "And one new MW of installed generation capacity costs about $1mn." Venezuela has 30,000MW of nameplate power capacity, but only about half is usable , the government says. Another hurdle is oil storage. Quintero estimates that of state-owned PdV's 40mn bl of storage capacity, about 40pc is not fully usable because it requires maintenance or faces other problems. Having ready storage is "very important for Venezuela right now", Quintero says. Still — both for Venezuela and booming nearby rival producers Brazil, Guyana and Argentina — plugging the gap in supply from the Middle East brings more immediate challenges. Soaring freight rates triggered by the virtual closure of the strait of Hormuz have made shipments from Latin America less competitive , and cargoes harder to fix. But South America was already growing in importance as a global crude supplier before the war and latest events only reinforce this. By Carla Bass and Carlos Camacho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US Gulf coast gasoline prices surpass 2-year highs
US Gulf coast gasoline prices surpass 2-year highs
Houston, 12 March (Argus) — US Gulf coast conventional 87 finished gasoline prices reached their highest point in over two years on Thursday after the US-Iran conflict led a spike in export demand. Both crude and refined products supplies continued to face a bottleneck after joint US and Israeli attack on Iran starting on 28 February led to the closure of the strait of Hormuz, driving global buyers to turn to the US Gulf coast to secure gasoline. Regional conventional gasoline prices hit $2.895/USG on Thursday, up by 42.87¢/USG on the week to highs not reached since late September 2023. The Gulf coast had already exported a record 918,000 b/d of gasoline in February, the highest level for any February since Kpler began recording data in January 2016, in an attempt by refiners to minimize a glut in regional winter-grade gasoline inventories ahead of the summer driving season. Though exports had driven regional gasoline inventories to three-month lows of 85.1mn bl in the week ended 6 March, Energy Information Administration data show, those levels had climbed past year-before levels by 9.2pc. However, continued strength in exports, especially as the US weighs waiving Jones Act domestic shipping restrictions , has led to expectations of further declines in inventories ahead of the summer driving season when road fuel demand is at its highest and driving conventional gasoline prices higher as a primary benchmark price for exports and domestic blending. The Jones Act mandates that vessels carrying shipments between US ports must by US-built, crewed and owned. Gulf coast gasoline exports were 1mn b/d in the week ended 6 March, after the US began strikes on Iran, an increase of 9.7pc on the week. Compared with the same week last year, exports were 39.6pc higher. Furthermore, the potential waiver of the Jones Act attracted more charters of medium range tankers for Gulf coast loading . By Hannah Borai Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US adds critical minerals to focus in Venezuela
US adds critical minerals to focus in Venezuela
Caracas, 4 March (Argus) — US interior secretary Doug Burgum is discussing mining and the critical minerals supply chain with Venezuelan officials in Caracas, the US embassy in Venezuela said today. Burgum is making contact with "US and Venezuelan businesses, and will work for a legitimate mining sector and safe value chain of critical minerals", the embassy said. The US has claimed management of Venezuela's major commodities in the wake of its arrest of former president Nicolas Maduro on 3 January. Burgum will visit for two days, and will also discuss general energy topics including oil, interim president Delcy Rodriguez said in a joint appearance with the secretary. Venezuela's government plans to soon present a legislative proposal to open its mining sector to more investment, similar to what it did recently in its hydrocarbons sector, Rodriguez said. Venezuela has said it has large untapped deposits of critical minerals, although specific data is limited. It has also struggled with widespread illegal mining and smuggling. Trump praised interim president Rodriguez, previously Maduro's vice-president, in a social media post on Wednesday, saying she is "working with U.S. Representatives very well". Venezuela continues to produce about 1mn b/d of crude, but Trump has vowed that US oil investment will soon boost output, adding that the "Oil is beginning to flow". By Carla Bass Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Venezuela reviewing latest ad-hoc oil contracts
Venezuela reviewing latest ad-hoc oil contracts
Caracas, 27 February (Argus) — Venezuela's state-owned oil firm PdV is reviewing 26 joint ventures granted from 2024-2025 to align them with changes to the hydrocarbons law or cancel them after the US has demanded reforms for investors. Now president Rodriguez began implementing new types of joint ventures, including some known as productive participation agreements (CPPs), after she took on the role of oil minister in October 2024 as part of her vice presidency. The arrangements could be retrofitted to match provisions under the recently modified hydrocarbons law, one PdV source told Argus , but more likely they may be cancelled. The 26 oil contracts granted after the ouster and arrest of former oil minister Pedro Tellechea in October 2024 and before the US seized former Venezuela leader Nicolas Maduro on 3 January are being reviewed, the PdV source said. Of those, 13 are CPPs. The PdV source said the US is pressuring Rodriguez to end those contracts since most of the other partners are non-US or little-known entities. "I think they will all be suspended," the source said. "What the Americans have told us is [any deals] need to be authorized by us." Rodriguez and Maduro granted the 26 deals in the two years but provided few public details. Even after Maduro was arrested on 3 January, Rodriguez still described the CPPs as a way forward to increase Venezuelan oil production. But once the law was modified the government and its partners were granted six months to adopt the contracts to the new law or cancel them. Sources say the arrangements were doomed to fail, since they were laboring from the beginning under the weight of US sanctions that are only now beginning to be lifted. "She granted two dozen contracts, but only five of those ... are in actual production", a former Venezuelan oil minister said. "Eliminating or retooling those contracts will have zero impact on production." Retooling those agreement or granting new ones may instead help to increase Venezuela's production from its plateau of about 1mn b/d in recent months. By Carlos Camacho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Map: Primary Venezuelan oil assets
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Key price assessments
Crisis en Venezuela y su impacto en los mercados de crudo
La intervención de Estados Unidos en Venezuela ha generado incertidumbre y gran expectativa en los mercados de crudo tanto a nivel global como regional ¿Cómo han evolucionado los precios desde entonces? ¿Qué escenarios se pueden anticipar en un contexto de tanta volatilidad?
Regístrese ahoraTimeline: Key Venezuela sanctions dates
