Vitol and Trafigura: Traders at the heart of Trump’s Venezuela oil grab
“Before the sanctions, China and India were main buyers of Venezuelan crude in Asia as they have big coker units that can process the heavy oil,” Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh said. “That’s an opportunity for the trading houses to re-enter a trade which had been disrupted by US sanctions.”
Bloomberg, January 27, 2025 – Vitol and Trafigura are at the centre of the Trump administration’s push to quickly sell Venezuelan oil, using special licences to move sanctioned barrels and offer them at steep discounts to refiners in the US and Asia. The trade could deliver unusually large profits, but comes with costly storage, financing and freight challenges, and rising political scrutiny as the US prepares to open the market to more competitors.
Real time alerts, set to your specifications
Continue reading
Cracks set to rally in winter
Supply risk builds across the Atlantic Basin and Asia as blending and refining margins turn negative.
09 OCT 26 - 12:10
Naphtha breaks higher while gasoline corrects, and the gas-nap pays for it
Freight is the obstacle between Asian demand and Western barrels
09 OCT 26 - 10:10
Singapore regrade swings from floor to near 10-year highs in a fortnight on diesel weakness and Chin...
Singapore regrade swings from floor to near 10-year highs in a fortnight on diesel weakness and China quota confusion; bullish European regrade, bearish Singapore regrade post-Golden Week
08 OCT 26 - 15:09