Deal close over Venezuela oil sanctions
Gulf Coast refiners could see imports of crude increase again
WASHINGTON — The United States and Venezuela appeared on the cusp of deal Tuesday to end sanctions that have cut off the flow of crude to the Gulf Coast from the South American oil giant.
Representatives of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro were set to sit down with members of that country’s opposition party in Barbados Tuesday to sign a deal allowing greater participation in next year’s national election in exchange for a loosening of U.S. sanctions, according to media reports.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
The Biden administration has for months said it was open to removing sanctions if Maduro were to take meaningful steps to allow the opposition party a more even playing field in Venezuela’s tightly controlled elections.
“The administration’s position has been clear and consistent for a long time: We’re prepared to engage in discussions about specific sanctions relief in return for concrete steps that lead us towards a free and fair election,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last month.
A loosening of sanctions would be a boon for refineries along the Gulf Coast, most of which were designed to handle the type of heavy, sour crude exported by Venezuela. They also made good business selling refined products back to the South American nation.
Before the Trump administration placed sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, the United States was importing almost 600,000 barrels a day from Venezuela. Now it imports around 180,000 barrels a day under a deal last year in which Chevron was allowed to resume some of its operations there.
“Venezuela was a big part of the mix for Gulf Coast refineries,” Clay Seigle, global oil services director at Rapidan Energy, a consulting firm, said last month. “In some cases, large investments have been made to convert refineries to capitalize on the shale oil revolution, but there’s still plenty of heavy sour crude capacity there.”