On the evening of January 6, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Venezuela would hand over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the US. This oil would be sold at market prices and the proceeds would be managed by the US.
According to Mr. Trump, the Venezuelan interim authorities will transfer the amount of oil subject to sanctions. "The US will use this revenue to benefit the Venezuelan people and the American people" - Mr. Trump wrote.
The US President said he had instructed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to "immediately implement the plan". Accordingly, the oil would be transported by specialized container ships and delivered directly to receiving ports in the US.
A senior official in the US administration said that all of this oil has been exploited. Most of it is on ships and will be redirected to US oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.
The transfer will take place quickly because Venezuelan crude oil has a high weight and cannot be stored for a long time.
Although the figure of 30-50 million barrels is considered large, the US currently consumes more than 20 million barrels of oil per day. In the past month, the amount of oil that the US uses per day is equivalent to the entire amount of Venezuelan oil expected to be delivered within 1-2 days.
After Mr. Trump's announcement, US crude oil prices fell by about 1 USD/barrel, equivalent to nearly 2%, to 56 USD/barrel.
It is estimated that if all of this oil is sold at the current price of about 55 USD/barrel, the US could earn from 1.65 to 2.75 billion USD.
Venezuela has accumulated large oil inventories since the US imposed an oil embargo at the end of last year. However, the handover of up to 50 million barrels of oil could significantly reduce Venezuela's domestic oil reserves.
According to analyst Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group, Venezuela has about 48 million barrels of storage capacity on land, which is almost full. Oil tankers seized by the US earlier are transporting about 15-22 million barrels of oil, according to energy industry estimates.
It is not yet clear when Venezuela will complete the transfer of all oil to the US.
