Global Refiners Bypass Oil Traders to Buy Direct From Venezuela

### Refiners Bypass Middlemen to Buy Venezuelan Crude Directly

Global commodity traders are losing their grip on one of the market’s most lucrative trades. Refiners and major oil producers are bypassing third-party trading houses to secure direct supply contracts with Venezuela’s state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).

After a period of dominance by major trading firms like Vitol and Trafigura, refiners such as Phillips 66 and India’s Reliance Industries have signed direct purchase agreements with PDVSA. Other major players, including Valero and Thailand’s Tipco, are expected to follow.

#### The Rise and Fall of the Trader Monopoly

Earlier this year, Vitol and Trafigura held a near-monopoly on marketing Venezuelan crude. Following political shifts in Venezuela, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued exclusive, long-term licenses to these two trading houses through June 2027. This allowed them to move over 100 million barrels of crude while other international firms were locked out.

The trading giants utilized their massive logistics networks, global tanker fleets, and floating storage hubs in Malaysia to reroute heavy Venezuelan grades like Merey 16 to Asian refining hubs when Middle Eastern supply chains were disrupted by geopolitical conflict.

However, this exclusive access is rapidly disappearing as PDVSA revives its pre-2019 business model, which prioritizes direct relationships with refiners and joint-venture partners over intermediaries. By cutting out the middleman, PDVSA avoids paying reseller premiums and improves its realized prices, while Gulf Coast refiners benefit from better economics.

#### Major Refiners and Producers Step In

* **Phillips 66:** After a seven-year hiatus, the company has resumed direct spot purchases from PDVSA, securing allocations of heavy sour Merey 16 crude tailored for its U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.
* **Chevron:** The U.S. supermajor expanded its Venezuelan exports to an average of 293,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter. Chevron also increased its stake in the Petroindependencia joint venture to 49% and secured new drilling rights in the Orinoco Oil Belt, aiming to boost production and compete directly with trading houses.
* **Reliance Industries:** India’s largest refiner has transitioned from using intermediaries to buying directly from PDVSA under terms authorized by the U.S. Treasury.
* **Repsol and Eni:** The European majors have increased direct liftings of Venezuelan crude to supply their European refineries, offsetting outstanding debts accumulated from supplying gas and diluents to Venezuela’s domestic market.

#### Production Outlook and Bottlenecks

While direct sales have surged, Venezuela’s upstream recovery faces significant hurdles due to a severe shortage of functional oilfield services and drilling equipment.

Despite these operational limits, U.S. regulatory clearances have helped push Venezuela’s total oil and fuel exports past 1.2 million bpd in mid-2026—up from an average of 847,000 bpd in 2025. Total exports are projected to reach 1.37 million bpd by the end of the year.