Valero bought a shipment of Venezuelan crude, two sources reported Wednesday, one of the first operations of US refineries on the Gulf coast that are part of Washington’s agreement with Caracas to export up to 50 million barrels.
Phillips 66 also bought a shipment, one of the sources said.
Both bought the crude oil from the commercial house VitolThe sources said, adding that it was being negotiated for delivery to the US coast of the Gulf of Mexico at a discount of between $8.50 and $9.50 per barrel compared to Brent crude.
Vitol and the rival commercial house Trafigura They were the first firms to which the US Government granted licenses to market Venezuelan crude oil after the removal of the president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of January.
Although Valero and Phillips 66 have been buyers of Venezuelan oil through the partner of the Venezuelan state company PDVSA, Chevronthe agreements mark the first purchases for the United States from trading houses that were only authorized this month to market crude oil from Venezuela.
The sources declined to be identified as information about the business deals is confidential. Valero, Vitol and Phillips 66 did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The White House also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Vitol and Trafigura bought Venezuelan oil at a discount of 15 dollars per barrel with respect to the world reference Brentaccording to sources. The Secretary of Energy of the United States, Chris Wrightalso said on Friday that initial sales of Venezuelan heavy crude worth about $500 million had been traded at a discount of $15 a barrel to Brent.
Trading houses will incur the cost of shipping the crude to the US Gulf of Mexico coast, which ranges between $2.5 and $3.5 a barrel depending on the size of the tanker, shipping sources said. That would give them a margin of between $2 and $4 per barrel for the Venezuelan crude they resell.
The emblematic offers Merey Venezuelan heavy crude oil US refineries started last week at a discount of between $6 and $7.50 per barrel to Brent, but fell due to low interest.
Vitol and Trafigura also made offers to Indian refiners at $8 to $8.50 per barrel below Brent, but that too has sparked little interest.
Before sanctions were imposed in 2019, several large US refineries on the Gulf Coast were purchasing and processing up to 800,000 barrels a day of heavy crude oil from Venezuela, according to US government data.
