Venezuela reopens oil wells and resumes crude exports following Trump administration policy changes

Core Insights - President Trump's Venezuela policy is beginning to show effects as the country has reopened oil wells and restarted crude exports, with two supertankers departing carrying approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude each, potentially marking the first shipments under a proposed 50-million-barrel supply deal with the U.S. [1][2] Oil Industry Developments - Oil exports from Venezuela had largely ceased due to intensified U.S. pressure, which significantly reduced shipments and left millions of barrels stranded in storage. During this period, Chevron was the only U.S. company authorized to ship Venezuelan crude under a limited license [5]. - Venezuela's overall crude output fell to about 880,000 barrels per day last week, down from 1.16 million barrels per day in late November, with the Orinoco Belt experiencing a decline from 675,000 barrels per day to approximately 410,000 barrels per day [9]. - The U.S. has taken aggressive steps to control Venezuela's oil future following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, which has led to the collapse of his regime. Venezuela's oil sector has suffered from decades of underinvestment, nationalization, and sanctions, with production dropping from 3.5 million barrels per day in the 1970s to an average of about 1.1 million barrels per day last year [6]. U.S. Policy and Actions - Trump has proposed a plan to refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil that had been blocked, aiming to reshape the oil industry with U.S. companies expected to play a significant role in rebuilding Venezuela's oil infrastructure [10]. - An executive order was signed by Trump to block U.S. courts from seizing Venezuelan oil revenues held in American Treasury accounts, stating that such actions would pose a threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy [13]. - Broader U.S. sanctions on Venezuela remain in effect, allowing only limited and tightly controlled oil transactions [14].