The Valero refinery in Three Rivers, Texas. Valero has been the main U.S. buyer of Venezuelan oil over the last year. Photo: Larry D. Moore.
Guacamaya, June 4, 2025. While Chevron was the main U.S. producer of Venezuelan oil, the product found a long list of buyers in the East Coast. These included fellow supermajors like ExxonMobil, Phillips 66 and Valero, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
In the first quarter of this year, Venezuela was the third largest source of petroleum imports in the U.S., taking 23.6 million barrels, or 22.6 million if we only consider crude oil. Alongside the top two, Canada and Mexico, the three provide much needed heavy and extra heavy crudes, which complement lighter domestic production.
The U.S. was also the second destination of Venezuelan oil exports. main hurdle here is the sanctions regime set by Washington DC, which limits bans or curtails the involvement of American businesses with state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA).
Since May 27, all U.S. transactions with the Venezuelan government and PDVSA have been prohibited, with only a minimum maintenance license for facilities in which Chevron participates as a shareholder.
The main U.S. companies that bought Venezuelan crude oil in the first quarter were Valero (10.9 million barrels), Chevron (5.6 million), Paulsboro Refining (3.3 million), Phillips 66 (1.5 million), ExxonMobil (790,000), Houston Refining (492,000).
Traders including Chevron, Gunvor, Bitumar, and Vitol also bought additional shipments of asphalt and jet fuel for the U.S. market.
European energy corporations have also taken oil they produced in Venezuela to the U.S., including Repsol and Maurel et Prom.
