U.S. crude imports from Venezuela hit 701,000 b/d, highest since 2017

U.S. crude oil imports from Venezuela averaged 701,000 barrels per day in July 2026, the highest monthly volume since May 2017, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Petroleum Supply Monthly. August eased to 655,000 b/d. That is more than triple the 200,000 b/d recorded at the start of the year.

The number matters. A nine-year high in Venezuelan barrels, arriving mostly at Gulf Coast docks, says a great deal about refining economics and Washington's changing posture toward Caracas. The flows did not happen by accident.

What is driving the increase?

Two forces support the ramp-up, per the EIA. U.S. refineries face high demand for feedstock because global refining margins are strong. And the U.S. government has eased restrictions on purchases from Venezuela.

Gulf Coast refining district PADD 3 is the natural destination. Many of its refineries are configured to run heavy sour crude, exactly what Venezuela produces. When those units need barrels, Venezuelan grades fit the slate. The economics do the rest.

Where has China gone?

Venezuela's export map has flipped. Vortexa data show China took the majority of Venezuelan crude exports in 2025. In 2026, Venezuela has exported no crude oil to China at all. The United States is now the largest single destination by volume for Venezuelan crude.

China's exit and America's arrival occurred in the same calendar year. Swing buyers rarely rotate that cleanly.

How did we get here?

The backstory runs through sanctions. U.S. imports from Venezuela stopped shortly after Washington imposed sanctions on state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) in January 2019. The pause lasted nearly four years.

In November 2022, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control granted Chevron waivers to resume exporting crude from its joint venture operations in Venezuela to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. Chevron restarted those exports in January 2023.

The decisive shift came this year. The U.S. government eased restrictions on PDVSA following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January 2026. It also took additional measures authorizing U.S. companies to invest in Venezuela to raise the country's domestic crude production.

The sequence is straightforward: sanctions stopped the trade, waivers restarted it, and this year's policy change scaled it.

What comes next?

Watch two things. First, whether monthly imports hold above the 650,000 b/d mark, which would signal a durable re-establishment of the trade rather than a one-summer spike. Second, whether the new U.S. investment authorizations translate into higher Venezuelan production, which would give the flows a firmer supply base. For now, the Gulf Coast's heavy-sour units have found their barrels again. Caracas has found its buyer.