U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright called Vitol gasoline trader John Addison, an early financial backer of Vice President JD Vance, on January 5, two days after the U.S. operation that removed Nicolás Maduro, and asked whether Vitol wanted to sell Venezuela’s crude, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Within days, Vitol and Trafigura received special licenses to market Venezuelan oil. The administration skipped competitive bidding, citing the need to move fast to stabilize Venezuela’s economy.
Addison gave $300,000 in 2022 to a political action committee backing Vance’s Ohio Senate run. He and his wife gave $7 million to political action committees in 2024, including $5 million to Make America Great Again. A U.S. official told Reuters that Vance had vouched for Addison to Wright at least a year before the January call. Flight records show Addison’s jet and Vance’s plane at Bozeman airport on December 27, the day Vance visited Montana’s Yellowstone Club, where Addison is building a home. A person who heard Addison’s account said Vance asked how quickly Venezuelan crude could be sold. Addison and Vance’s office both deny that any meeting took place.
The Energy Department said Vance and Wright never discussed Venezuelan oil sales and that Vitol was chosen because it is the world’s largest energy trader. Vitol and Trafigura said they had no advance knowledge of the military operation. Venezuela has exported more than 200 million barrels this year, and Vitol and Trafigura declined to disclose the terms of their agreements with state oil company PDVSA.
Addison retired from Vitol in March and now chairs Wright’s energy policy advisory board. Rep. Robert Garcia, the incoming Democratic chair of the House Oversight Committee, wrote to the heads of Vitol and Trafigura in January asking how they secured their licenses. He said the latest reporting “raises even more questions about who knew what and when.”
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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