FACTBOX: Trump ramps up pressure on Venezuela with oil tanker blockade

US President Donald Trump has ordered a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers to and from Venezuela, escalating pressure to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.

The move follows the US seizure of the oil tanker Skipper Dec. 10 and subsequent sanctions against six shipping companies and tankers operating in Venezuela's oil sector.

"The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using oil from these stolen oil fields to finance themselves, drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping," Trump said Dec. 16 in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, adding, "I am ordering a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela."

Trump first ramped up sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry, including state-owned PDVSA, in 2019 during his previous term before starting to sanction ships in Venezuelan oil trades in mid-2020.

In 2024, opposition leaders, global watchdogs, and the US State Department disputed Maduro's presidential election, accusing the government of issuing fraudulent voting tallies and repressing democratic opposition.

Recent US pressure has included multiple attacks on alleged offshore drug shipping operations, the arrival of US warships and troops in the region.

"China's independent refineries, Venezuela's main crude buyers, will need to compete for alternative heavy sour barrels in the spot market," said S&P Global Energy CERA Director Zhuwei Wang after Trump announced the blockade.

The following are key facts about the US blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers:

Trade flows

• Venezuela exported 770,000 b/d of crude from January through November, of which 100,000 b/d was on sanctioned tankers, S&P Global Commodities at Sea data showed.
• China's state-owned refineries have not purchased Venezuelan crude since sanctions have been in place.
• China's independent refiners, the primary taker of those Venezuelan crudes, have imported around 18.55 million mt from January to November, down 43.8% compared with 33 million mt a year earlier, Platts data showed.
• Venezuela exported 160,000 b/d of crude to the US in November, CAS data shows.
• Under US law, currently only Chevron is allowed to operate in Venezuela legally, and Chinese buyers rely on a shadow fleet to complete their trades.
• A total of 120 tankers with 20.2 million dwt have been used for cargo operations in Venezuela for crude exports and oil swap deals in non-Western trades, as well as domestic logistics operations, this decade, according to CAS and Maritime Intelligence Risk Suite data. Of them, 57 were under international sanctions.
• Venezuela imported 57,140 b/d of chemical and petroleum products January-November, of which 11,706 b/d were on sanctioned tankers.
• Nearly 78% of Venezuela's imports were naphtha from Russia and the US, used as a diluent for the country's heavy crude.
• For the week starting Dec. 14, 17 tankers are sailing to Venezuela or in Venezuelan waters, unchanged week over week but down from 24 in mid-November, CAS data shows. Two of the ships are laden with naphtha, while the remaining are empty.
• Several sanctioned tankers, including Bella 1 and Star Twinkle 6, are turning away from Venezuelan waters and the broader Caribbean Sea.

Prices

• ICE February Brent futures were 95 cents (1.61%) higher at $59.87/b in mid-afternoon US trading Dec. 17.
• NYMEX January WTI was up 87 cents/b (1.57%) at $56.14/b.
• Venezuelan Merey crude in the eastern Shandong market was heard at a discount of about $13-$14/b to ICE Brent futures on a DES Shandong basis Dec. 15, up about $1-$1.50/b compared with levels prior to the US actions.
• Latin American and Canadian heavy crude differentials have widened in December, suggesting a well-supplied US market.
• Colombian Vasconia has averaged at a 28 cents/b discount to WTI so far in December, down from a 54 cents/b premium in November and a $1.35/b premium in September, Platts data shows.
• Colombian Castilla has averaged at a $3.58/b discount to WTI so far in December, down from a $2.46/b discount in November and a $1.65/b discount in September.
• Western Canadian Select has averaged at a $5.14/b discount to WTI so far in December, down from a $4/b discount in November and a $3.22/b discount in October.
• US Gulf Coast coking utilization remained below 80% this year, signaling room for USGC refiners to process more heavy crude.
• ClearView Energy Partners estimates a full shutdown of Venezuelan production could boost crude prices by $1.75-$6/b and gasoline by 4-14 cents/gal.

Infrastructure

• PDVSA reported a massive cyberattack on its automated control systems Dec. 15, although the company claims production was not affected.
• Operations at PDVSA's docks are being maintained manually via radio communication during the system failure.
• PDVSA briefly shut down its Amuay refinery Dec. 17 because of a power outage.
• The country's four major refineries have a combined capacity of 1.3 million b/d but operate well below capacity.
• Venezuela's crude production averaged 1.12 million b/d in November, up 21,000 b/d from the previous month despite US pressure.
• Venezuela holds about 364 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves, among the world's largest.
• About 28,000 inactive wells need rehabilitation, with no reports of exploratory drilling since 2019.