The US has just completed the first sale of Venezuelan crude oil since tough moves aimed at increasing pressure on this South American nation.
According to published information, the oil shipment worth about 250 million USD has been sold to Vitol - an energy and commodity trading group headquartered in Geneva (Switzerland), with a branch in Houston (USA).
Mr. John Addison, a senior Vitol trader, is involved in the company's winning of a contract to buy Venezuelan oil. Mr. Addison attended a recent meeting at the White House with President Donald Trump and many senior leaders in the US oil and gas industry.
Notably, Mr. Addison is one of the individuals who made a major financial contribution to Mr. Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. The total amount of support recorded is about 6 million USD, through many political action committees, including 5 million USD transferred to MAGA Inc.
At the meeting at the White House, Mr. Addison was said to have expressed his commitment that Vitol would achieve the best possible price when helping the US sell Venezuelan oil, while emphasizing Washington's influence in issues related to Caracas.
The deal quickly attracted attention in US politics. Senator Chris Murphy said that Vitol was involved in bribery cases abroad and questioned the transparency of the agreement.
He said that a company with financial ties to the presidential campaign winning a large oil contract is "worrying".
Several other Democratic senators also expressed similar views. Senator Cory Booker warned that revenue from Venezuelan oil sales is being held in accounts in Qatar, a mechanism that, according to him, could create risks of supervision and accountability.
Besides Vitol, many other financial and energy corporations are also said to be facing the opportunity to benefit from the US controlling and distributing Venezuelan oil.
Among these is Elliott Investment Management - an investment fund that is approaching the takeover of Citgo, a Houston oil refinery owned by Venezuelan national oil and gas corporation PDVSA.
Citgo currently owns refineries in Illinois, Louisiana and Texas, facilities that are considered suitable for treating Venezuela's characteristic heavy crude oil.
According to analyses, not many refineries in the US have sufficient technical capacity to process this type of oil, making businesses with suitable infrastructure potentially benefit significantly.
The US administration believes that moves related to Venezuelan oil are aimed at serving energy security goals and economic interests. However, criticisms say that the combination of foreign policy, resource control rights and domestic political relations is raising many questions that need to be clarified.
