Venezuela switches to Russian oil after US supplies cut off

From March to October 2025, more than 7 million barrels of Rosneft oil were delivered to the country, the first such volume in six years.

After the US supply was stopped, Venezuela began importing oil from Russia. Bloomberg повідомляє reports.

Russian supplies, which reached 69,000 barrels per day in September, replaced American cargoes that completely stopped after the Donald Trump administration decided to revoke Chevron’s license to operate in Venezuela.

The move, which Washington explained as a tightening of sanctions against the regime of Nicolas Maduro, effectively ended a short period of cooperation between the two countries in the oil sector.

Venezuela uses imported oil as a diluent for its extra-heavy crude from the Orinoco basin, which accounts for more than half of its current 1.1 million barrels per day of production. Without such a component, transporting oil through pipelines is technically impossible, so finding a new supplier has become critical for Caracas’ export industry.

Russian fuel turned out to be cheaper and of higher quality than the Iranian condensate that Venezuela had previously purchased. As a result, Moscow gained a new sales market after losing Europe to sanctions and strengthened its political presence in close proximity to the United States.

“Sanctions are forcing these producers to ‘hug’ each other,” said Commodity Context analyst Rory Johnston, commenting on the rapprochement between Moscow and Caracas.

For President Maduro, the agreement with Russia means political support amid international isolation. For the Kremlin, however, the partnership has become a symbolic bridgehead in a region traditionally considered the United States’ “backyard.”

Despite the partial resumption of Chevron’s activities within the so-called cargo exchange, Russian supplies continue. However, effective strikes by Ukrainian drones on Russian oil refineries in the Baltic region, including the Ust-Luga terminal, which provides up to 7% of Russian oil exports to Venezuela, may complicate further supplies.

Analysts note that even at the peak of volumes, Russian oil covered only half of Venezuela’s needs for diluents, but the strategic importance of cooperation between Moscow and Caracas goes far beyond energy, turning into another element of the geopolitical confrontation with the United States.

Venezuela and the United States have also recently exchanged accusations over naval operations in the Caribbean.