The Neve Photon carrying crude oil from Venezuela docks at Port Freeport in Freeport, Texas, U.S., January 15, 2026.
Antranik Tabitian | Reuters
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday that the United States is locking in about 30% higher prices for Venezuelan crude as the country begins selling Latin American crude after detaining former President Nicolas Maduro.
Washington has completed its first sale of about $500 million worth of Venezuelan crude oil, and more sales are expected in the coming days and weeks, a U.S. Department of Energy spokesperson said.
“If you sell that same barrel of oil, you get a realized price that is about 30% higher than if you sold the same barrel of oil three weeks ago,” Wright said at an American Energy Association event, without disclosing the price.
U.S. special forces captured President Maduro earlier this month during an operation that Washington said was aimed at restoring political stability.
President Donald Trump said last week that Venezuela would hand over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil currently under U.S. sanctions and sell it at prevailing market prices. In a social media post, he said the proceeds would be managed by him to ensure the funds benefit both Venezuela and the United States.
This is just the first tranche of oil, as the Department of Energy says oil sales from Venezuela will continue “indefinitely.”
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven reserves of crude oil at approximately 303 billion barrels, but years of lack of investment have caused the oil industry to fall into serious decline, with production now dropping from a peak of 3.5 million barrels per day in the 1990s to approximately 800,000 barrels per day.
President Trump also announced last Friday that oil companies will invest at least $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector, adding that the United States will provide security to ensure investors receive high returns.
He met with oil industry leaders from Exxon, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, Valero and Maraso at the White House to discuss investments in Venezuela. Exxon CEO Darren Woods told President Trump that the Venezuelan market is currently “uninvestable.”
Venezuela seized the assets of Exxon and Conoco in 2007, and Caracas owes both companies billions of dollars for unpaid arbitration claims.
The move comes as global oil markets face a supply glut that has weighed on prices over the past year.
As of 8:33 p.m. ET, North Sea Brent futures rose 0.14% to $63.85 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.2% to $59.31. This follows a sharp decline on Thursday as traders appeared to ignore tensions between the US and Iran.
“Venezuela’s oil problem is neither technical nor commercial, but fundamentally human and political,” said Baron Lamar, former head of trading at Petronas and co-founder of the index.
“Capital will remain cautious, incremental and conditional until investors are confident of long-term political continuity,” he said.
