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US presses Venezuela to sever ties with China and allies
The administration of US President Donald Trump has informed Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, that Caracas must end economic relations with China, Russia, Iran and Cuba as part of conditions for restarting oil production and sales.
Delcy Rodríguez’s calculated ascent reshapes Venezuela’s power centre
Former diplomats describe Rodríguez as firmly ideological but tactically flexible, with a clear grasp that any economic turnaround would hinge on reviving Venezuela’s oil industry
TechnipFMC wins contract for BP’s Tiber project in US Gulf
TechnipFMC has been awarded an integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract by BP for the offshore Tiber project in the US Gulf of Mexico.
Fitch sees limited near-term upside for Venezuelan oil
Renewed US involvement in Venezuela could eventually help revive the country’s oil industry and open the door for American producers, if policy shifts allow greater foreign participation
Oil slides further after Trump flags Venezuelan crude shipments to US
Oil extended losses in early Asian trading on January 6 after President Donald Trump said Venezuela would send millions of barrels of crude to the US, with proceeds from the sales placed under his control
PDVSA says it is in advanced talks with US on crude sales
Petróleos de Venezuela SA said it is holding advanced discussions with the United States over the sale of crude oil, signalling a potential expansion of energy trade ties following the capture of Nicolás Maduro
Chinese buyers cut Venezuelan crude intake as US blockade lifts prices
Chinese refiners have reduced purchases of Venezuelan crude after a narrowing price discount eroded the appeal of barrels from the sanctioned producer
Eni, Repsol chase $6bn as Venezuela oil deals unravel
The two companies jointly own the offshore Perla gas field and had provided fuel and diluents to state producer PDVSA, which relied on them to move its extra-heavy crude. Payment was made in oil.
Venezuela oil shipments to US set to continue as sanctions eased
Venezuela is set to ship sanctioned crude oil to the US on an open-ended basis after Washington agreed to selectively ease restrictions to allow the crude to be sold on international markets
Global LNG exports jump 4% in 2025
Global LNG exports climbed to 429mn tonnes in 2025, representing a 4% increase from a year earlier.
Trump quietly signalled Venezuela oil push weeks ago, but US majors hold back
President Donald Trump hinted weeks ahead of Nicolás Maduro’s capture that sweeping changes were coming to Venezuela
Venezuela explores US crude sales as blockade strains PDVSA
Officials in Caracas and Washington are weighing options to channel Venezuelan crude to US refiners, a move that could ease mounting pressure on state producer PDVSA while reshaping long-standing trade flows dominated by China
Venezuela bonds rally on regime-change bets, Citi says upside remains
Prices rose by more than 2 cents on January 6, building on even stronger gains a day earlier, with the defaulted 2034 notes among the top performers
Venezuela’s opposition energy hub vision falters as US keeps distance
The proposal seeks to reverse years of output decline through sweeping liberalisation, including full access for private capital and the dismantling of PDVSA’s monopoly
Oil, gas industry faces "tougher strategic balancing act" in 2026: WoodMac
Wood Mackenzie expects the strategic pressure on companies to intensify in 2026, warning that the industry faces “an even tougher strategic balancing act" in 2026.
Maduro’s capture sends shockwaves through China’s Venezuela oil ties
The arrest of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro by the US has unsettled geopolitics and injected fresh uncertainty into oil markets, with China — Caracas’s main strategic partner and crude buyer — closely tracking the fallout
Venezuela’s vast oil reserves come into focus after Maduro’s capture
The arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by US forces has thrown fresh uncertainty over the future of Venezuela’s oil industry, home to the world’s largest proven crude reserves
Venezuela bonds jump on US intervention bets despite restructuring risks
Venezuelan sovereign debt surged after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro by US authorities and Washington’s assertion that it would take temporary control of the country
Venezuela oil shipments slip past blockade as Chevron resumes exports
A wave of oil tankers has quietly departed Venezuela with tracking signals disabled, pointing to covert flows of crude and fuel even as a US naval blockade seeks to enforce a sweeping embargo
Venezuela curbs oil output as US blockade chokes exports and storage
Venezuela has started scaling back crude production after state-owned PDVSA ran short of storage capacity, underscoring the impact of a US oil blockade that has effectively frozen exports
Geopolitical volatility triggers OPEC+ retreat to market neutrality
The leading factions of the OPEC+ alliance have opted to maintain current crude production ceilings
Iraq’s PM urges continued talks with US energy major Chevron for further investments
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani has called for continued discussions between the Ministry of Oil and US energy major Chevron to identify the most effective investment mechanisms for Iraq’s oil sector
Baker Hughes to supply Commonwealth LNG with liquefaction equipment
Energy equipment and services provider Baker Hughes will provide liquefaction equipment to Commonwealth LNG.
Turkey’s Botas and Woodside agree to 9-year LNG deal
Turkish state-owned petroleum pipeline corporation Botas has signed a sales and purchase agreement with Australia’s Woodside energy.
US exports record 111mn tonnes of LNG in 2026
US shipped nearly 20mn more tonnes of LNG than its closest rival Qatar.
Greenland and Denmark reject US envoy appointment as threat to territorial integrity
Denmark PM Frederiksen and Greenland Premier Nielsen reject US envoy appointment demanding respect for territorial integrity as Trump ally status creates difficult situation for Copenhagen.
PDVSA restarts loading as US blockade threat keeps Venezuela exports stalled
Crude shipments have dropped sharply from the more than 900,000 barrels a day exported in November, following last week’s US seizure of a sanctioned tanker
Venezuela’s defence minister slams US Caribbean presence, warns of energy risks
Padrino said the region remains open to cooperation, trade and free navigation, rejecting the idea that it is closed to US interests.
US oil quarantine puts Venezuela’s sanctions-evasion network at risk
The administration’s partial embargo focuses on tankers already sanctioned by the US Treasury, threatening a system officials say funds Nicolás Maduro and supports the country’s fragile economy
Trump tests oil industry appetite for a post-Maduro Venezuela
The Trump administration has discreetly approached US oil companies to gauge whether they would consider re-entering Venezuela in a post-Nicolás Maduro era
US blockade puts Russian naphtha shipments to Venezuela at risk
Russian exports of naphtha to Venezuela are coming under strain after US President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned tankers entering or leaving the country
Chevron’s Venezuela deal faces scrutiny as sanctioned trader benefits
Internal data from PDVSA showed that an oil trading firm tied to a sanctioned Panamanian businessman has sold all of the crude the Venezuelan state received from Chevron’s largest field since exports resumed this summer
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