Letter from Venezuela: A long journey back from the oil wilderness
Lifting sanctions may still be a bridge too far in becoming a sustainable supplier of crude to the US
There is a great irony in the fact that sanctions-blighted Venezuela has some wiggle room in exporting crude to the US given it would be replacing Russian barrels. But the irony may be moot given the difficulty the Latin American country would have in, first, getting sanctions lifted further and, second, ramping up supplies even if restrictions were eased. After the Biden administration looked to bring in new sources of crude imports following the ban on Russian oil, it decided in November 2022 to give Chevron a six-month licence to expand operations and export Venezuelan oil to the US. But strained relations between Caracas and Washington mean there is unlikely to be a flurry of new opportu
Also in this section
23 March 2026
A complex and sometimes contradictory web of factors that include unpredictable oil prices, the globalisation of LNG markets, the expansion of Middle Eastern sovereign capital and the growth of datacentre demand will shape the energy landscape beyond 2026
23 March 2026
The Strait of Hormuz crisis highlights how key waterways can become global chokepoints
20 March 2026
Attacks on key oil and LNG assets across the Gulf mean a prolonged supply disruption, with damage to Qatar’s export capacity undermining confidence in the global gas system
20 March 2026
The US may be systemically stripping Russia of key geopolitical allies, but Moscow can reap rewards from the Hormuz crisis, both in the short and long term






