Energy / Oil & Gas
U.S. crude imports from Venezuela hit highest level since 2017
EIA data show July imports averaged 701,000 barrels per day before easing in August.
Status: source-checked.
U.S. crude oil imports from Venezuela averaged 701,000 barrels a day in July, their highest level since May 2017, before easing to 655,000 barrels a day in August, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Nov. 6.
The increase followed a January average of 200,000 barrels a day. The EIA attributed the rise during most months of 2026 to U.S. refiners’ demand, high global refining margins and the easing of U.S. restrictions on purchases from Venezuela.
Many Gulf Coast refineries are equipped to process heavy, sulfur-rich crude such as Venezuela’s, the agency said. Citing Vortexa data, it identified the United States as the largest single destination by volume for Venezuelan crude exports in 2026.
The trade has changed repeatedly under U.S. sanctions policy. Imports stopped shortly after sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company in January 2019, according to the EIA. Chevron resumed exports from its Venezuelan joint ventures to U.S. refineries in January 2023 after receiving U.S. Treasury waivers in November 2022.
The newest import figures cited in the analysis are for August, not November. The report draws on the EIA’s Petroleum Supply Monthly and third-party shipping data; those datasets were not independently reconstructed for this article.
What we know / what we don't
What we know
- July 2026 imports averaged 701,000 b/d; August 655,000 b/d, per EIA's Petroleum Supply Monthly.
What we don't know
- August figures are subject to EIA revision.
The source record