Roving Periscope: EU, China bought over 50% of Russian energy; Venezuela to couph up 50m barrels to the US
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Donald’s trumped-up claims and allegations notwithstanding, Venezuela will have to ‘handover’ 30-50 million barrels of oil to the US, its President himself said on Tuesday!
The US President’s assertion came amid reports that, since the Ukraine war began, China and the European Union (EU) imported over half of the Russian energy worth USD 1.17 trillion in earnings by Moscow, while India imported only 16 percent of it.
Venezuela’s ‘interim’ government would provide 30 to 50 million barrels of high-quality, sanctioned oil to the US at market price. Trump announced in a post on his personal social media outlet, Truth Social, the media reported.
He said proceeds from the sale would be under his control as US President and would be used to benefit the people of “both Venezuela and America.”
“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America,” Trump wrote, adding that the funds would be used “to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.”
Trump said the oil would be transported using storage ships and unloaded directly at US ports. “I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately,” he wrote.
With oil currently trading at around USD 56 per barrel, the transaction announced by Trump late on Tuesday could be worth as much as USD 2.8 billion.
America consumes about 20 million barrels of oil and related products per day, meaning the Venezuelan oil transfer would be equivalent to roughly two and a half days of US supply, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
The White House will organize an Oval Office meeting on Friday with oil company executives to discuss Venezuela. Representatives from Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips are expected to attend the meeting, the reports said.
The Trump announcement came days after US forces kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a late-night military operation, and brought him and his wife to face ‘justice’ in a New York court. Officials in Caracas later said that at least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed during the operation to capture Maduro and take him to the US to face charges of alleged narcoterrorism etc.
On Tuesday, Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez pushed back against Trump’s remarks. The US President had warned earlier in the week that she would face consequences worse than Maduro’s if she failed to “do what’s right” and overhaul her country to align with US interests.
Trump said his administration will now ‘run’ Venezuela’s policies and is pressing its leaders to open its oil reserves to American energy companies.
The US President rejected criticism from Democrats over the military operation, noting that his predecessor Joe Biden had also called for Maduro’s arrest on drug trafficking charges.
Speaking before a House Republican retreat in Washington, Trump complained that Democrats were not giving him credit for what he described as a “successful operation,” even though there was bipartisan agreement that Maduro was not Venezuela’s rightful president.
Meanwhile, according to the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Russia’s earnings from the export of crude oil, natural gas and coal hit €1 trillion, or roughly USD 1.17 trillion at the current exchange rate, between February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, and January 3, 2026.
China and the EU contributed the most in Russia’s hydrocarbon revenue earning.
China bought Russian fossil fuels worth USD 343.76 billion (29.38 percent), followed by the EU at USD 255.21 billion (21.81 percent). India purchased fossil fuels worth USD 190 billion (16.26 percent) of Russia’s cumulative earnings
Oil (including crude oil and oil products) and fossil gas (either pipelined gas or LNG shipments) represent the vast majority of this revenue, it added.
