Trading houses beat US majors to first deals for Venezuelan oil

LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Global oil trading houses have emerged as early winners in the race to control Venezuelan crude flows, getting ahead of U.S. energy majors wary of credit and legal risks and securing a potentially lucrative business opportunity in the country with the world’s largest crude reserves.
U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. majors would invest billions of dollars in Venezuela to quickly rebuild its dilapidated oil sector following the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro earlier in January. Trump met top oil executives at the White House on Friday as his administration outlines a long-term plan to raise $100 billion to boost Venezuelan oil output.
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The first companies to secure any business in the wake of the U.S. military action in Caracas, however, were Dutch-based trader Vitol and Singapore-headquartered peer Trafigura, rather than U.S. majors.
The U.S. government tapped the giant merchant houses because they were better suited to quickly get Venezuelan oil exports flowing again, four industry sources familiar with the negotiations said. That is the first order of business for Washington before reconstruction can begin, so that revenue from exports under U.S. supervision can fund the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez in Caracas.