🛢️ Vitol & Trafigura at the Center of Trump’s Venezuela Oil Play

Two of the world’s biggest commodity traders — Vitol and Trafigura — have emerged as key players in the U.S. push to restart Venezuelan oil exports under special licenses.

📌 What’s happening

• U.S. approval allows select traders to market Venezuelan crude

• Cargoes are moving again after years of sanctions disruption

• Oil is being sold at discounts to global buyers, including U.S. refiners

⚙️ Why traders matter

• Vitol & Trafigura have the logistics, financing, and risk appetite others lack

• Fast execution beats slower oil majors still wary of Venezuela risk

• Traders profit from volatility, discounts, and supply dislocations

🌍 Bigger picture

This is a geopolitical energy reset:

• Sanctions flexibility

• Oil supply returning to global markets

• Political strategy intersecting with commodity trading power

👀 Market impact

More Venezuelan barrels could influence:

• Crude spreads

• Refining margins

• Energy geopolitics in 2026

Smart money is watching the traders, not just the oil.

#Oil #energy #Macro #Geopolitics #Venezuela #Commodities