Vitol to Load First Naphtha Shipment to Venezuela Under New US Agreement

Commodities trader Vitol is poised to load approximately 460,000 barrels of naphtha from Houston aboard the vessel Hellespont Protector this weekend, marking the first cargo to be shipped from the United States to Venezuela under a new supply agreement announced by the Trump administration. This development comes in the wake of President Nicolas Maduro's nicolas maduroremoval from power in Venezuela VE, signaling a shift in U.S. USpolicy towards the country.

Naphtha, a vital diluent for Venezuela's heavy crude oil production, is crucial for addressing the production bottlenecks faced by the state-run oil company PDVSA. The U.S. naval blockade had previously forced PDVSA to reduce output significantly and resort to storing oil on ships due to filled onshore tanks. The new supply agreement, announced just days before the expected loading, is seen as a pivotal move to revitalize Venezuelan oil production and facilitate the export of up to 50 million barrels of crude oil to the U.S.