US refiners Phillips 66, Citgo, Valero seek to buy crude directly from Venezuela

Phillips 66, Citgo seek to purchase directly starting in April, Valero later in the year, bypassing the trading houses to get a bigger share of the spread.

HOUSTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - U.S. refiners Phillips 66 and Citgo Petroleum are seeking to buy heavy crude directly from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA starting in April to maximize profits, rather than purchasing through trading houses and U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N), according to sources familiar with the efforts.

Trading houses Trafigura and Vitol in January secured the first U.S. licenses to export Venezuelan oil as part of a $2 billion deal between Caracas and Washington. Chevron has held an authorization to operate there and ship crude since last year.

Phillips 66 (PSX.N), one of the biggest U.S. refiners, is seeking compliance and internal clearance to purchase directly from PDVSA, three sources said. Once the company is ready, it plans to charter tankers to load the crude at PDVSA's terminals, one of the sources added.

The company bought Venezuelan oil from Vitol last month at about $9 per barrel below Brent crude.

The White House said on Friday the Trump administration is responding to overwhelming interest from oil and gas companies.

"The president's team is working around the clock to field requests from oil and gas companies," spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.

Valero, the second-largest U.S. refiner and a top buyer of Venezuelan oil from Chevron, plans to buy directly from PDVSA later in the year after it assesses the condition of Venezuela's loading infrastructure, three other sources said. The company has previously bought Venezuelan crude from Vitol for U.S. Gulf Coast delivery.

Valero is stepping up imports of Venezuelan oil with up to 6.5 million barrels of Venezuelan crude bound for its Gulf Coast refineries in March, making it the top foreign refiner of the South American nation's oil. The bulk of those purchases is expected to be through Chevron.

 CITGO WANTS OIL DELIVERED TO U.S. GULF

Venezuela-owned U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum is also in talks to buy crude directly from Venezuela, but the company wants it delivered to the U.S. Gulf Coast, which is difficult due to PDVSA's limited number of vessels, another source said.

Citgo plans to take advantage of opportunities provided under the general license to purchase crude directly from Venezuela, the company said in an emailed statement, adding that it aims to process Venezuelan crude in the coming months at its Gulf Coast refineries.

Citgo in January bought a 500,000-barrel cargo of Venezuelan heavy crude for February delivery from Trafigura, its first Venezuelan crude import since 2019.

See the full story on Reuters here:

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-refiners-phillips-66-citgo-seek-buy-crude-directly-venezuela-sources-say-2026-02-18/

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