Bloomberg: Biggest Buyer Abandons Venezuelan Oil as U.S. Blockade Drives Up Prices
This week, Venezuelan Merey crude oil was offered at a discount of $13 per barrel, although a month ago it was $15 per barrel
Chinese buyers refused to purchase Venezuelan crude this week as prices rose, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
According to the sources, Venezuela’s Merey crude was offered at a discount of $13 per barrel to ICE Brent. A month earlier, before the United States launched its campaign against sanctioned tankers, the discount was as wide as $15 per barrel. Sellers have raised Merey prices due to shipping disruptions, the sources said.
In December 2025, shipments of Venezuelan oil bound for China fell sharply as the U.S. naval blockade intensified, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
China is the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil, and the Merey grade is often used to produce bitumen for road paving, the agency noted.
- On December 17, 2025, the United States imposed a complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers, entering or leaving Venezuela's ports.
- On the night of January 3, , the US military captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife in Caracas.
- The couple was accused of drug trafficking, and on January 5, Maduro appeared before a US court. He pleaded not guilty.
- Analysts believe that Venezuela is capable of increasing oil production by about several hundred thousand barrels per day within two years, provided political stability and investments by American companies.
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