Sources: Vitol, Trafigura and US in talks on Venezuelan oil sales

Vitol, Trafigura and the Trump administration are in "talks" about marketing Venezuelan oil.

European trading houses dominate the global oil trade and could assist the U.S. in facilitating oil sales from Venezuela, even though Washington prefers U.S. majors to take the lead.

One source said that U.S. officials would meet with trading representatives at White House on Friday, as well as U.S. oil giants.

Trafigura declined to comment. The White House didn't immediately respond to an e-mail sent outside of U.S. office hours asking for comment.

After the U.S. On January 3, 2019, the U.S. captured Nicolas Maduro.

Washington wants to control Venezuelan oil revenues and sales indefinitely.

Trump has already stated that U.S. firms will invest in Venezuela to rebuild its oil sector and lower global energy prices.

Washington and Caracas reached an agreement this week to export oil worth $2 billion, or 30-50 million barrels to the U.S.

The Financial Times reported that U.S. Oil Companies want "serious assurances" from Washington prior to making large investments in Venezuela.

Underinvestment and sanctions over the years have seen the country's oil production fall to just 1 million barrels a day (bpd), or 1% of the global supply, from 3.5 million bpd during the 1970s.

Vitol, Trafigura and other traders were active in Venezuelan oil trading in the past. However, the U.S. sanctions imposed in 2019 forced these companies to stop all shipments, with the exception of occasional shipments made when temporary U.S. licences were issued.

(source: Reuters)