United States completes first sale of Venezuelan oil

The United States has completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil, generating around $500 million, a US official said Wednesday, the first major energy transaction since Washington’s dramatic intervention in Venezuela earlier this month. The sale is part of a broader $2 billion agreement between the US and Venezuelan authorities, and officials say more oil sales are expected in the coming days and weeks as the U.S. begins marketing Caracas’s crude under its oversight.

Revenue from the initial sale is being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, with one principal account in Qatar acting as a neutral venue for moving funds with American approval.

Earlier this month, US military forces carried out a large-scale operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, a move that has reshaped US–Venezuela relations and paved the way for greater American influence over the country’s oil sector.

Under the emerging arrangement, the US administration has said it plans to oversee the sale of millions of barrels of Venezuelan crude, potentially between 30 million and 50 million barrels, with proceeds managed by Washington.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, about 303 billion barrels or roughly 17 % of the global total, according to the US Energy Information Administration, a strategic prize in global energy markets.