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
IOCs temper Venezuela investment expectations
IOCs temper Venezuela investment expectations
Election timelines remain unknown and upstream investment terms still fall short of requirements, write Carla Bass and Stephen Cunningham Houston, 27 March (Argus) — The White House and the Venezuelan opposition say that the US' intervention will lead to significant and lasting change for Venezuela and its oil sector. For international oil companies, the proof will be in Venezuela's investment environment. Washington's control over Venezuelan oil funds will ensure the government in Caracas remains aligned with the US and international investor interests until fair elections can be held, US energy secretary Chris Wright told the CERAWeek by S&P Global event in Houston, Texas, this week. "It's not a Jeffersonian democracy yet, but it's meaningfully better than it was three months ago," he said. The US seized former president Nicolas Maduro on 3 January, accused him of widespread election fraud and drug trafficking, and put his vice-president, Delcy Rodriguez, into power. Washington has since eased sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry and obliged market participants to make payments through US-controlled accounts. It has demanded that Venezuela open its oil and other commodity sectors to investment. Caracas has passed a new hydrocarbons law , but further reforms are still needed to improve its international arbitration allowances. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado appears understandably impatient for the free and fair elections that she hopes will shortly pave the way for democracy in the country, as well as transform and privatise Venezuela's oil sector after decades of decline. The US has yet to set a timeline for those elections, although its officials insist they are the end goal. Venezuela could reach 5mn b/d of crude production in 10 years if its oil sector receives $150bn of investment, Machado said at CERAWeek. This would be far above Venezuela's last peak of about 3mn b/d two decades ago, and current output of about 1mn b/d. Machado's plan for Venezuela's energy sector includes privatising state-owned PdV — which she says has become a "bankrupt, criminal organisation" — creating an independent energy regulatory agency, and offering 25-year production contracts with 20pc royalties and the ability for investors to book production. But her hopes go beyond the expectations of the international oil companies sizing up investment prospects. Chevron was the last US producer still in Venezuela before Maduro's seizure , and it has increased its output there since then, chief executive Mike Wirth said. Venezuelan oil reforms "have moved in the right direction" since the US intervention, but returning Venezuela to 3mn b/d "will require significant billions of dollars and time to get there", he said. Shell's initial focus in Venezuela will be geared towards natural gas that can be monetised through LNG, chief executive Wael Sawan said. "We could even be in a position to take final investment decisions on one or two projects before the end of this year, if afforded the right fiscal and legal frameworks," he said. Once bitten ExxonMobil initially told the White House Venezuela was still "uninvestable", but it has since softened its approach. It has a team on the ground assessing what it would take to rebuild the country's long-neglected oil industry, upstream president Dan Ammann told CERAWeek. ConocoPhillips maintains the most blunt assessment. Venezuela needs a "completely rewired" fiscal regime to attract the significant investment needed, as its revised hydrocarbons law is "woefully inadequate", chief executive Ryan Lance said. His company's priority is trying to secure the $12bn in international arbitration awards it is owed over Venezuelan asset seizures in 2007. And he had a message for the White House as it tries to spur new investments in Venezuela following its legally contentious intervention. "Not only do you need physical security, you need contract sanctity and policy durability, not only on the Venezuelan side but on the US side." Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Shell eyes potential gas FIDs in Venezuela
Shell eyes potential gas FIDs in Venezuela
Houston, 24 March (Argus) — Shell's initial focus in Venezuela will be geared towards natural gas that can be monetized through LNG, according to chief executive officer Wael Sawan. "We could even be in a position to take final investment decisions (FIDs) on one or two projects before the end of this year, if afforded the right fiscal and legal frameworks," Sawan said Tuesday at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas. The company is also looking to tap liquids opportunities in order to help Venezuela as it looks to grow production. "I don't think anyone would dispute the enormity of the resource space in Venezuela," Sawan said. "The key will now be to be able to bring robust technical plans into the country, and importantly, for the country to continue on the progress they are making on fiscal terms, on the legal frameworks," the CEO added. "I'm encouraged by what we see, we still have a long way to be able to get those molecules out." By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US oil fund control will tame Venezuela: Wright
US oil fund control will tame Venezuela: Wright
Houston, 23 March (Argus) — Control over Venezuela's oil funds will ensure that its government remains aligned with the US government and international investor interests until fair elections can be held, US energy secretary Chris Wright said today. "If you're one of the leaders of Venezuela right now, you want to make sure you're on the side with the United States," Wright said at the CERAWeek by S&P Global event in Houston, Texas. "And ultimately, there's going to be an election, so you probably want to show improvement to your citizens." Wright noted that there is much left to be done and "it's not a Jeffersonian democracy yet, but it's meaningfully better than it was three months ago", when the US on 3 January seized former leader Nicolas Maduro, accused him of widespread election fraud as well as drug trafficking, and moved Maduro's vice president Delcy Rodriguez into power. The US has eased a series of sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry, and obligated market participants to make payments through accounts controlled by the US government. The US has demanded that Venezuela open its oil and other commodity sectors to investment. There could still be improvements to international arbitration allowances included in reforms to Venezuela's hydrocarbons law it passed since then, and its national assembly is debating similar changes to its mining laws this week. The law also included "wide bands" of sharing of potential government and private income, "that you can say are discretion for different deals, but can also be avenues of corruption", Wright said, noting that dialogue on this will continue. Wright said that Venezuela's crude production has increased by 200,000 b/d since the US attack. Venezuela's output stood at 1.028mn b/d in February, compared with 1.16mn b/d in January and 1.12mn b/d in December, based on industry sources consulted by Argus . Chevron, which was the last US producer still in Venezuela before the seizure, has increased its output in Venezuela since then, chief executive Mike Wirth said today. He agreed that Venezuela' oil reforms "have moved in the right direction", even if there is more to be done, especially in dispute resolution and possibly narrowing profit ranges in potential deals. Some investment would likely not be profitable on the smaller end of the range, he said. But as many operators have said, returning Venezuela to its production level of 20 years ago, when output was above 3mn b/d, "will require significant billions of dollars and time to get there", Wirth said. By Carla Bass Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US further eases Venezuela oil sanctions
US further eases Venezuela oil sanctions
Washington, 18 March (Argus) — The US administration on Wednesday further eased restrictions on oil and gas investment in Venezuela, casting the move as relief from the disruption of Mideast Gulf oil and LNG supply. Until Wednesday, only six companies — Chevron, BP, Shell, Italy's Eni, Spain's Repsol and France's Maurel & Prom — were allowed to freely operate in Venezuela. The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday issued a license lifting all restrictions on Venezuela oil and gas operations and allowing future upstream investment for all "established US entities", defined as companies that operated in the US as of 29 January 2025. The US companies will have to pay Venezuelan oil and gas taxes and royalties into a US-controlled bank account, currently in Qatar. Any contracts between those companies and PdV and the Venezuelan government would have to specify the primacy of US laws for dispute resolution. "This license will benefit both the US and Venezuela, while supporting the global energy market by increasing the supply of available oil," Treasury said. "It will also help incentivize new investment in Venezuela's energy sector." Venezuela's potential future production cannot resolve the immediate disruption of the Mideast Gulf supply. Tehran has enforced a near halt on commercial shipping through the strait of Hormuz, through which about 25pc of globally traded crude volumes and 20pc of LNG supply were flowing before the US-Israel war against Iran began. But Venezuela suddenly appears more investment-worthy after prolonged US attacks on Iran have roiled crude markets. Ring-fencing Citgo from takeover OFAC clarified on Wednesday that it will continue to block attempts by creditors of Caracas and PdV to enforce their claims. The court-ordered sale of PdV-owned US refiner Citgo still will require explicit authorization from the US authorities, OFAC said. The US administration has yet to clarify its position on Citgo's governance structure. Citgo since 2019 has operated under a board appointed by the Venezuelan opposition and cleared by the White House. The US enforced this arrangement after withdrawing official recognition from the government of Venezuela under former president Nicolas Maduro. The Citgo board, comprised of Venezuelan expatriates who previously worked in PdV, has improved the company's financial health but has ultimately proved unsuccessful in staving off legal challenges by Venezuelan creditors to sell Citgo to satisfy debts accrued by Caracas. The US earlier this month restored formal relations with Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez's government. But Washington has yet to allow the Caracas-based PdV to reassert control over Citgo. The Rodriguez government appears to be preparing to do just that. PdV has tapped Asdrubal Chavez as the president of Citgo, according to a company document seen by Argus . Asdrubal Chavez, a cousin of former president Hugo Chavez, served as Citgo president in 2016-18 but had his US visa revoked and was evicted from the US in 2018. If confirmed, Asdrubal Chavez would be replacing Citgo president Carlos Jorda. PdV has also picked replacements for other Citgo board members. The US State Department did not immediately comment on whether the US would accept PdV appointments for Citgo's board. By Haik Gugarats and 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
