Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA confirms negotiations with the US for crude sales, following Washington’s demand for access to its reserves.
CARACAS: Venezuela’s state petroleum firm PDVSA confirmed it is negotiating the sale of crude oil to the United States.
The announcement follows Washington’s demand for access to the country’s reserves after ousting its president.
“Negotiations are under way with the United States for the sale of volumes of oil within the framework of existing commercial relations between the two countries,” PDVSA said in a statement.
It added the process is occurring under a model similar to those with international companies.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated Washington would control sales of Venezuelan oil “indefinitely.”
This follows US forces seizing the country’s leader Nicolas Maduro and taking him to New York to face trial.
US President Donald Trump announced Venezuela’s interim leaders agreed to US-managed marketing of 30-50 million barrels of crude.
Wright suggested sanctions on the country’s oil sector would be waived to facilitate exports.
Analysts said shipping oil to the United States would lower Caracas’s risk of having to cut output due to limited storage capacity.
This move would ease global supply concerns.
Venezuela claims to sit on about a fifth of the world’s oil reserves.
Experts said efforts to quickly ramp up output would face significant challenges.
These include creaking infrastructure, low prices, and ongoing political uncertainty.