Trump has announced an oil blockade of Venezuela. What the media is writing
US President Donald Trump has announced that a blockade will be organized around Venezuela in order to prevent oil tankers from leaving the country. Against this background, oil prices jumped after a long fall. Buyers of Venezuelan oil began demanding discounts of over $20 per barrel. How the media reacts to Washington's actions is in the Izvestia digest.
Axios: Trump orders blocking of Venezuela's oil tankers
Trump has declared Venezuela a "foreign terrorist organization" and officially ordered the blockade of all oil tankers serving the country under US sanctions. The new escalation stage is putting unprecedented pressure on the government of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, threatening to bankrupt the country's already struggling economy.
Axios
"Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America. It will only grow, and the shock for them will be like they've never seen before," Trump said on Truth Social. About 18 tankers under U.S. sanctions and fully loaded with oil are currently in Venezuelan waters, and eight of them are classified as "very large container ships," such as the tanker Skipper, which the U.S. seized last week.
The United States is tracking these vessels and plans to detain them as soon as they enter international waters. The Trump administration also plans to impose new sanctions on more vessels. In total, the US sanctions list includes 712 vessels worldwide, 40 of which are located in the territorial waters of Venezuela.
Bloomberg: Oil prices rose after Trump's blockade order
After oil dropped to its lowest level since 2021, it rose again when Trump ordered a blockade of Venezuela's tankers under sanctions. The price of Brent crude oil approached the $60 mark after falling by more than 5% in the previous four sessions amid concerns about a growing global oversupply.
Bloomberg
Oil production in Venezuela has increased since reaching a minimum in 2020, but is far from the level it was several decades ago. Last month, tankers loaded almost 590,000 barrels per day for export, while global consumption was over 100 million barrels per day. Most of the oil produced in the country is supplied to China.
The Venezuelan Merey variety is often used to produce bitumen for paving in China. Bitumen futures in Shanghai jumped 4.2% from their lowest level in four years, showing the biggest increase since June. Venezuelan oil reserves stored in tankers across Asia will mitigate immediate losses for Chinese buyers, but prolonged export disruptions may force refineries to look for more expensive alternatives. Iranian grades and Canadian oil can be considered as suitable substitutes.
Reuters: Venezuela began to demand significant discounts on oil
Venezuelan oil consumers, including Chinese refineries, are demanding more substantial discounts and changes to spot contracts from state-owned PDVSA after the US seized a ship carrying oil from that country, traders and sources said. By the time the United States took steps to seize the Skipper tanker, PDVSA was already having difficulty distributing its oil at prices close to contract prices. The company also faces the problem of oil cargo stuck in Venezuelan waters and tanker turnovers at the request of ship owners.
Reuters
Discounts on prices for Venezuela's flagship Merey heavy crude destined for China have increased to reach $21 per barrel compared with prices for benchmark Brent crude, which ranged from $14 to $15 per barrel last week, two traders and a company source said.
Most of the discounts reflect the increased cost of a "military point" requested by shipowners to protect against interception, delays, or route changes due to the continued U.S. military presence in the Caribbean. Since PDVSA first came under sanctions in 2019 that deprived it of its traditional customers in the Gulf of Mexico, the company has had to accept significant discounts. But now PDVSA is facing huge competition from Chinese buyers who have access to abundant crude oil reserves from Russia and Iran.
The Washington Post: Who is the US ally in the Caribbean
While the United States is threatening an attack on Venezuela, some allies in the Caribbean are concerned that the largest military buildup in decades threatens its status as a "zone of peace." But some countries support the United States or are considering such an opportunity. No Caribbean leader has done more for Trump's military campaign than Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bisessar.
The Washington Post
Her country, which is only seven miles from the Venezuelan mainland at the nearest point, hosts US Marines, allowed the US to install a radar system at one of its airports and participated in joint military exercises with American troops. "I have no sympathy for human traffickers," Persad—Bisessar said after the first recorded strike in September, which killed 11 people off the coast of Trinidad. "The US military must brutally destroy them all."
The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, allowed the US military to operate in restricted access zones at the San Ysidro air base and at the Las Americas International Airport as part of the fight against Venezuelan drug traffickers. According to him, American military aircraft can refuel and transport equipment and technical personnel. The Government of Grenada also said that Washington has requested the temporary installation of radar equipment and the involvement of appropriate technical personnel at the international airport and "carefully evaluates and considers these requests as part of technical consultations."
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