Venezuela’s oil exports have remained steady despite mounting pressure from the United States aimed at crippling Caracas’s energy sector.
New data released this week shows that Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, exported nearly 10% more of crude oil and refined products in May as in April, despite the expiration of limited U.S. licenses that had temporarily permitted such sales.
The continued stability in Venezuela’s oil exports has been largely attributed to increased shipments to China. According to a report by Reuters, Venezuela exported approximately 779,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and refined products in May, with nearly 75% of those shipments bound for China. Up from April’s figure of 700,000 bpd. In addition, 291,000 metric tons of oil byproducts and petrochemicals were also exported.
In 2019, during his first term, President Donald Trump imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector, requiring other countries to seek U.S. approval before engaging with PDVSA or purchasing Venezuelan oil.
Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. government issued limited licenses in 2022—most notably to Chevron—to allow limited cooperation with PDVSA. These moves were made in the wake of the ban on Russian oil to the U.S. following the launch of the Special Military Operation.
However, in February, President Trump announced he would revoke those licenses as part of a return to his administration’s “maximum pressure” policy on Venezuela. In March, Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all imports from countries that continued purchasing Venezuelan oil—a warning aimed especially at China and India. As of yet, no concrete action has followed.
The Trump administration’s strategy toward Venezuela closely mirrors its policy on Iran, where Washington has similarly sought to halt all energy exports. China has emerged as the largest buyer of Iranian oil as well, reportedly importing over 1.1 million bpd.
Last month, Trump escalated his rhetoric further, warning that countries buying Iranian oil would be barred from doing “any business in the U.S. in any way, shape, or form.” As with his Venezuela threats, no enforcement mechanism or executive action has been implemented to date.