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China has bought some Venezuelan oil that was purchased earlier by the US, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina has already bought some of the crude that\u2019s been sold by the US government,\u201d Wright said at a roundtable with media in Caracas, without giving details. \u201cLegitimate Chinese business deals under legitimate business conditions\u201d would be fine, he said, when asked about the possibility of joint ventures in the South American nation.<\/p>\n
The global oil market was jolted in January when US forces swooped into Venezuela, seized former President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, with Washington asserting control over the OPEC member\u2019s crude industry. Since then, traders have been looking for signals about how the nation\u2019s cargoes will be redirected, and how local production may be revived after years of neglect.<\/p>\n
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Refiners in China \u2014 the largest world\u2019s oil importer \u2014 were the biggest buyers of Venezuelan crude before the US intervention, with the bulk of the imports bought by private processors. Given those flows were sanctioned, they were typically offered with deep discounts, making them attractive to local users.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s Foreign Ministry didn\u2019t have an immediate comment on Wright\u2019s statements.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of Maduro\u2019s seizure, President Donald Trump said Venezuela would turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US. The \u201cinterim authorities\u201d would hand over \u201chigh quality, sanctioned oil to the United States of America,\u201d Trump said at the time in a post on Truth Social.<\/p>\n
The Latin American country\u2019s so-called \u201coil quarantine\u201d was essentially over, Wright said.<\/p>\n
In Asia, several Indian refiners have bought Venezuela\u2019s flagship Merey crude following the US action, and the government has asked state-owned processors to consider buying more Venezuelan and US oil. Elsewhere, the grade has also made its way to other markets, including Israel.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
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