China is expected to see a plunge in imports of oil from Venezuela in February as the now month-long U.S. blockade has prevented many China-bound cargoes from leaving Venezuelan waters.
The deliveries of crude and fuel oil from Venezuela to China in February are estimated at just 166,000 barrels per day, as just 5 million barrels of Venezuelan crude and fuel oil have managed to leave the South American country in recent weeks, analysts and traders tell Reuters.
To compare, Venezuela’s exports of combined crude and fuel oil to China averaged about 642,000 bpd in 2025, as per internal documents of Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA seen by Reuters.
U.S. forces have seized at least five tankers from Venezuela since the middle of December, while many vessels that have departed from the South American country have returned to Venezuelan waters to avoid the U.S. blockade.
Around the January 3 capture of Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces, PDVSA was unable to ship oil cargoes to Asia, as the U.S. “oil quarantine” of Venezuela continues.
Chevron is the only Western oil company currently authorized by the U.S. Treasury to operate in Venezuela. Chevron ships the crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Venezuelan shipments to Asia, however, were at a standstill, and China, the top oil customer of Venezuela, is getting lower volumes of crude.
In fact, Chinese oil buyers have reduced their intake of Venezuelan oil as the discount between Brent and the country’s flagship Merey crude shrank from $15 per barrel last month to $13 per barrel now, Bloomberg reported last week, citing unnamed sources.
At the request of the US government, Trafigura and Vitol are providing logistical and marketing services to facilitate the sale of Venezuelan oil, Trafigura said on Friday, following a meeting of oil industry executives with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.
Vitol and Trafigura are offering Venezuelan crude to refiners in China and India for March delivery, trade sources told Reuters on Monday.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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