The US military’s ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is set to swiftly reroute the country’s oil exports back toward the United States – and away from China. A smooth transition in Caracas will likely result in a rapid rerouting of Venezuelan oil exports, re-establishing the United States as the major buyer of the country’s volumes. Although the US crude oil mix dramatically changed following the boom in domestic shale oil – a light grade – in the early 2010s, many refineries still require heavy grades to optimise operations. Venezuelan exports collapsed to zero between 2020 and 2022 after Trump imposed direct oil sanctions on the state-owned energy company PDVSA. China accounted for more than half of Venezuela’s crude exports of ‍768,000 bpd last year, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.

Source: The Star January 06, 2026 11:50 UTC