Generic Hero BannerGeneric Hero Banner
Latest market news

Maduro claims Venezuelan presidency, sanctions build

  • : Crude oil
  • 25/01/10

Nicolas Maduro took the oath of office for a third term as Venezuela's president today in a small ceremony, prompting more condemnation from countries that reject his claim to the title.

Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel arrived in Venezuela ahead of the 45-minute ceremony, held in a side room at the national assembly. Maduro promised a "term of peace" in brief comments. Only state media was allowed to film the event, which was much smaller than his past two inaugurations.

Opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, who has international support for his claim that he won the July presidential election, had said he would try to enter Venezuela from forced exile to claim the office.

The outgoing administration of President Joe Biden marked Maduro's inauguration by upping the bounty on him to $25mn, related to a criminal case filed by US federal prosecutors for the Venezuelan leader's alleged involved in drug trafficking.

"It is clear to the Venezuelan people, the United States and most of the world that Edmundo Gonzalez should be sworn in today as Venezuela's next president," a senior US official said.

But the Biden administration will not formally recognize Gonzalez as his country's legitimate leader — a decision that could have given him a say in managing some of Venezuela's foreign assets, including in the US.

"At this juncture, the US currently recognizes the democratically elected 2015 National Assembly as a legitimate government of Venezuela," the US official said.

The US also imposed sanctions on PdV president Hector Andres Obregon — another complication for PdV's foreign partners.

To constrain foreign revenue sources for Maduro's government, the US administration would continue to approve requests to seize Venezuelan sovereign assets in foreign countries to satisfy Caracas' debts, the US official said.

The most prominent of those cases is moving through a US federal court in Delaware, where Venezuela's creditors are close to finalizing the sale of PdV-owned US refiner Citgo.

But the Biden administration is not looking to revoke a license it granted in 2022, allowing Chevron to import into the US cargoes of oil produced in its joint venture with PdV — some 200,000 b/d last year.

Chevron's authorization "is a policy that we have been reviewing here at the highest levels for some time," the US official said. "One of the things that has driven our policy all along is a commitment to use strategic pressure on Maduro and his authorities when that is appropriate and will have proportionate impact."

The Biden team has held discussions with the incoming administration of president-elect Donald Trump on Venezuela, the official said. "Depending on the events that we see unfold in the next 10 days, we are ready to make a set of recommendations to the incoming administration with respect to the future of" licenses granted to Chevron and for some other foreign companies to operate in Venezuela.

Terms of peace

The inauguration drew other international actions.

Israel recognized Gonzalez as president of Venezuela today, describing Maduro as an "ally of Iran", adding its name to the long list of countries that do not recognize Maduro as president.

The EU also announced it was sanctioning another 15 Venezuelan nationals, including supreme court head magistrate Caryslia Rodriguez, who attended the ceremony today. There are now 70 Venezuelans, including military and civilian, present and former officials, under EU sanction.

Venezuela's response to the condemnation has been to increase military and policy control in Caracas, arrest protesters and threaten to "neutralize" any aircraft carrying Gonzalez in its airspace.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was also briefly held on Thursday after emerging from several months of hiding to lead an anti-Maduro rally, her allies said.


Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

25/02/13

US tariffs would cut midcon refinery runs: PBF

US tariffs would cut midcon refinery runs: PBF

Houston, 13 February (Argus) — US president Donald Trump's impending tariffs on Canadian crude would cause US midcontinent refineries to cut throughputs, even if they find alternative crudes, US independent refiner PBF Energy said today. The tariffs would cause a sizable disruption and "have some impact on throughput," chief executive Matthew Lucey said on an earnings call. Switching to alternative crudes would lead to lower yields of gasoline, diesel and other fuels because refineries are optimized around a certain type of crude, he said. Lucey described the US-Canada tariff situation as a "standoff" because US refiners need Canadian crude to maintain throughput while Canada needs the US market to avoid production cuts. "If they don't sell it to the US, it's going to stay in the ground," he said. PBF operates a 173,000 b/d refinery in Toledo, Ohio, which runs a significant slate of synthetic crude out of Canada. The US will impose a 10pc tariff on energy from Canada and a 25pc tariff on all imports from Mexico starting on 4 March, after Trump delayed the tariff by a month. US refiners' runs of Canadian crude averaged about 4mn b/d over the past year, or about 22pc of total US throughputs, according to US investment bank Tudor Pickering. Most of that crude feeds large midcontinent facilities. The region as a whole consumes about 70pc of US crude imports from Canada, with the balance going to the US Gulf coast. US refiners who rely on Canadian crude imports are seeking alternative sources. US refiner Marathon Petroleum said last week it could run some domestic crudes in its midcontinent refineries, including crude from the Bakken shale in North Dakota and Montana, to replace Canadian imports. By Eunice Bridges Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Sanctions complicate Syria’s access to crude, products


25/02/13
25/02/13

Sanctions complicate Syria’s access to crude, products

Dubai, 13 February (Argus) — Syria is struggling to secure crude and refined oil products through public tenders because shipowners remain cautious about sending vessels there in case they are detained, traders say. Syria's transitional government issued tenders seeking 4.2mn bl of crude, 80,000t of 90 Ron gasoline and 100,000t each of fuel oil and gasoil last month — the first since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December last year. The tenders closed earlier this month after minimal participation from trading firms and were mostly awarded to local companies which will effectively act as intermediaries, market participants said. Market participants have hinted to Argus that small and medium-sized Turkish firms were likely on the list of bidders . But the delivery of the cargoes is under threat, with shipping companies avoiding the route over concerns about tankers being "sanctioned or stranded". Last month the US waived sanctions prohibiting energy trade with Syria, but the country is still under EU and UK sanctions, which could have narrowed the pool for bidding, although EU foreign ministers have agreed on a roadmap to ease restrictions. The bidding pool was also limited by a clause in the tender document that noted "the seller should not have any direct or indirect trade relations with any country that is in war with Syria", a market source said, adding that this could have discouraged some companies from taking part. Before Assad's removal, Syria relied heavily on Iran for crude and product supplies. But Tehran — the Assad regime's closest ally — ceased shipments after the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took control last month, leaving the new transitional government under pressure to find alternative suppliers. Neighbouring Arab countries are stepping in to help the new government deal with acute fuel shortages. State-owned Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company has begun exporting around 500 t/d of LPG to Syria. The ministry also issued two LPG import tenders seeking a total of 86,000t, but the winner has not been confirmed By Rithika Krishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Better Opec+ compliance narrowing supply surplus: IEA


25/02/13
25/02/13

Better Opec+ compliance narrowing supply surplus: IEA

London, 13 February (Argus) — The IEA said today that the Opec+ alliance's improving compliance with agreed crude production targets is "slowly chipping away" at its projected supply surplus this year. In its latest Oil Market Report (OMR), the Paris-based agency again lowered its forecasted surplus for this year, this time by 270,000 b/d to 450,000 b/d. This is the agency's third consecutive downgrade since November, when it saw 2025 supply outstripping demand by 1.15mn b/d. These forecasts are subject to change. With data now "largely complete" for 2024, the agency's balances show supply matching and demand exactly at 102.9mn b/d. This is a long way off the 800,000 b/d supply surplus the IEA forecast for 2024 this time last year. Opec+ is implementing three sets of crude production cuts, and is scheduled to start unwinding one of these — totalling 2.2mn b/d — starting in April. A recent meeting of the group's key producers signalled no change to this plan . The IEA continues to assume all Opec+ cuts will remain in place this year. But the agency said that should production return as planned, this would add 430,000 b/d to its 2025 supply forecast. Aside from Opec+, there are other key supply uncertainties this year. These range from new US sanctions targeting Russian and Iranian oil exports to US tariffs on some of its key trading partners. "It is still too early to tell how trade flows will respond to new US tariffs or the prospect thereof, and what the impact of the escalation of sanctions on Iran and Russia may be in the longer run," the IEA said. As thing stand, the IEA sees global oil supply growing by 1.56mn b/d this year to 104.45mn b/d, compared with growth of 1.76mn b/d projected in its January report. This slower growth was largely driven by Opec+, which the agency now sees supplying 170,000 b/d less than previously thought this year. It also noted a 950,000 b/d fall in global oil supply in January, "with extreme cold weather hitting North American supply, compounding large declines in Nigerian and Libyan production." On demand, the agency upgraded its growth forecast this year by 50,000 b/d to 1.1mn b/d. It sees oil demand at 104mn b/d in 2025, driven by "a minor pickup in GDP growth and lower oil prices as per the current forward curve." The IEA said global observed oil stocks fell by 17.1mn bl in December. Crude stocks fell by 63.5mn bl and products stocks rose by 46.4mn bl. It said preliminary data show global stocks falling by 49.3mn bl in January, led by large draw in China. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US trade policy adds uncertainty to oil market: Opec


25/02/12
25/02/12

US trade policy adds uncertainty to oil market: Opec

London, 12 February (Argus) — Opec said today that the US' new trade policies have added "more uncertainty" into global oil markets. This uncertainty "has the potential to create supply-demand imbalances that are not reflective of market fundamentals, and therefore generate more volatility", Opec said in its latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR). The producer group said the uncertainty has also "increased inflation expectations" and "made it more challenging to cut interest rates in 2025". US president Donald Trump started his new term in January with threats to impose a wide array of import tariffs on several big trading partners. Washington has so far announced new tariffs on imports from China, as well as on all US imports of steel and aluminium. And Trump says more tariffs are on the way. For now, Opec has kept its global oil demand growth projections for both 2025 and 2026 unchanged. For this year, the group sees oil demand growing by 1.45mn b/d to 105.2mn b/d, while in 2026 it sees consumption increasing by 1.43mn b/d to 106.63mn b/d. In terms of supply, the group has downgraded its growth forecast for non-Opec+ liquids for 2025 and 2026 by 100,000 b/d each to 1mn b/d for both years. The downgrade is driven by the US and Latin America. Opec+ crude production — including Mexico — fell by 118,000 b/d to 40.625mn b/d, according to an average of secondary sources that includes Argus . Opec puts the call on Opec+ crude at 42.6mn b/d in 2025 and 42.9mn b/d in 2026. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Americas dominate Spain's crude imports in 2024


25/02/12
25/02/12

Americas dominate Spain's crude imports in 2024

Madrid, 12 February (Argus) — Spain's crude imports from the Americas climbed sharply in 2024 to account for more than half of total receipts for the first time on record. Spanish crude imports increased by 5pc on the year to more than 1.29mn b/d, according to petroleum reserves regulator Cores, driven by double-digit growth in receipts from the three largest suppliers the US, Mexico and Brazil. This combined with a respective doubling and tripling of imports from smaller suppliers Venezuela and Guyana to give the Americas a 53pc share of Spanish receipts in 2024, up from 47pc in 2023. Imports were 200,000 b/d below the Spanish refining system's 1.49mn b/d of crude distillation capacity, which like other European countries refineries continued to struggle with competition from cheap imported finished products. North America accounted for 31pc of imports. The US led suppliers for a second consecutive year, with receipts rising by 18pc to 214,000 b/d. Imports from Mexico climbed by 20pc to 161,000 b/d as higher supplies of lighter Olmeca and Isthmus grades more than offset lower amounts of heavy Maya crude at integrated Repsol's refineries. Receipts from Spain's second largest supplier Brazil climbed by 38pc to 181,000 b/d. Those from Venezuela more than doubled to 58,000 b/d after Repsol increased imports under its crude-for-debt deal with state-owned PdV. The Mideast Gulf accounted for just 8pc of Spanish crude imports in 2024, down from 12pc in 2023 as unrest in the region reshaped shipping routes. Receipts from Iraq dropped by 38pc to 38,000 b/d, from Saudi Arabia they fell by 15pc to 70,000 b/d and there were none from the UAE. Africa's share of Spain's crude slate narrowed in 2024. Receipts from Nigeria fell by 21pc to 129,000 b/d, and from Libya they fell by 13pc to 88,000 b/d. Opec's share of Spanish crude imports fell to a record low of 37pc in 2024 from 44pc in 2023 and around 50pc over the past decade. Its share was 35pc of 1.24mn b/d in December. Spain's year-on-year import growth slowed to 3pc in December from 14pc in November. Deliveries were lower at Repsol's 220,000 b/d Bilbao refinery ahead of maintenance in January, rose at Moeve's 244,000 b/d Algeciras facility after conclusion of work there and rose back to capacity at Repsol's 135,000 b/d Coruna after maintenance finished at the start of December. Spain imported crude from 15 countries in December, down from 17 in November as slates narrowed and receipts rose from Nigeria and Mexico. By Jonathan Gleave Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Generic Hero Banner

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more