The ship, which departed about two weeks ago from the José terminal in Venezuela with approximately one million barrels of crude oil, represents a symbolic and technological value for the Spanish oil company, which maintains strategic interests in the South American country.
The Folegandros oil tanker docked at the Port of Bilbao with the first shipment of Venezuelan oil acquired by Repsol since the United States administration, led by Donald Trump, intervened directly in Venezuela’s politics and energy sector in early January, an action that included the arrest of Nicolás Maduro.
The ship, which departed about two weeks ago from the José terminal in Venezuela with approximately one million barrels of crude oil, represents a symbolic and technological value for the Spanish oil company, which maintains strategic interests in the South American country.
This crude oil will be processed at the Petronor refinery in the Basque Country, which has specialized facilities to treat heavy crude oils with high sulfur content, characteristics of Venezuelan oil. Originally the shipment was destined for the Cartagena refinery, but a fire in that plant forced its arrival to Bilbao to be redirected.
The arrival of Folegandros occurs within the framework of a new energy policy promoted by Washington, which in recent days formally authorized companies such as Repsol, Chevron, BP, Eni and Shell to resume operations in Venezuela after the political change in Caracas.
Repsol’s CEO, Josu Jon Imaz, has sought to position the company as a key player in this scenario. In meetings with senior US officials, Imaz thanked Washington for its openness and assured that the oil company is ready to “invest heavily” and expand its production in Venezuela. The company aims to triple its production in the South American country to around 135,000 barrels per day.
*Read also: US Secretary of Energy: Venezuelan oil sales have exceeded $1 billion
Imaz’s presence and statements generated criticism in Spain: the president of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Aitor Esteban, pointed out that some expressions of the executive could have been “saved”, including gratitude for the US intervention or the reference to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
A new chapter for the oil market
This first shipment crystallizes the reactivation of oil trade between Repsol and Venezuela under US supervision, at a time when the country seeks to rebuild its energy industry after almost a year of blockades on its exports as a result of the embargo decreed by Washington in March 2025.
The United States authorized the export of up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, the proceeds of which, according to the official version, will be used for the reconstruction of the country. To facilitate this commercialization, the White House granted licenses to trading companies such as Trafigura and Vitol, in charge of reselling the crude oil to the international oil majors. Of the 2 million barrels acquired by Repsol, nearly half—one million—arrived in Bilbao in this first shipment.
With the arrival of the Folegandros, Spain and Europe witness the resumption of an oil trade that had been interrupted for almost a year, marking a new chapter in the energy relationship between Venezuela and large global companies after recent political changes.
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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