Vitol To Load First Diluent Cargo Under Venezuela Supply Deal

By Shariq Khan and Marianna Parraga Reuters January 11, 2026

NEW YORK/HOUSTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Commodities trader Vitol is expected to load the first cargo of naphtha from the U.S. to Venezuela this weekend under a new supply agreement announced just days ago by President Donald Trump, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday.

The flow of naphtha, used as a diluent to thin Venezuela’s heavy crude oil and make it easier to move and process, would mark a key milestone in efforts to boost production in the South American country as the Trump administration focuses on reviving its oil industry after removing President Nicolas Maduro from power last week.

State-run PDVSA had been reducing output in recent days after a months-long U.S. naval blockade cut its shipments and forced it to store oil on ships as onshore tanks filled up.

Vitol and its trading peer Trafigura struck agreements with the U.S. government to help market the stranded Venezuelan oil, the companies confirmed on Friday, days after the interim government in Caracas agreed to export up to 50 million barrels of crude oil to the U.S.

With Venezuelan oil expected to start flowing again, the commodities traders, and oil major Chevron CVX.N, have been sourcing naphtha to ship it to Venezuela and help revitalize crude production in the country, sources told Reuters.

Vitol has chartered the vessel Hellespont Protector to load roughly 460,000 barrels of naphtha from Houston, sources said. The vessel is currently looking for a window to load the product over the weekend and is expected to deliver it in Venezuela sometime next week, they added.

The sources requested anonymity to discuss confidential details. Vitol declinedto comment.

Vitol and others had been supplying diluents to Venezuela until the U.S. government early last year began canceling licenses as part of a policy shift toward the country.

Imports of diluent from Russia helped Venezuela replace the volumes it was receiving from the U.S. after those cancellations, and the U.S. could now take back that share from Russia, Commodity Context analyst Rory Johnston said.

“Total diluent imports into Venezuela have been pretty flat over the past year, and assuming the current situation cuts off Russian naphtha flow, then the U.S. will need to replace ASAP to avoid further upstream shut-ins,” Johnston said.

https://gcaptain.com/vitol-to-load-first-diluent-cargo-under-venezuela-supply-deal/

Mexico Oil Shipment Reaches Cuba, Increasing Tensions With US

By Gonzalo Soto Bloomberg January 10, 2026

Jan 9, 2026 (Bloomberg) –A tanker carrying between 85,000 and 90,000 barrels of oil arrived in Havana from Mexico amid growing tensions with the US over the shipments after the fall of Venezuela’s ousted President Nicolás Maduro last week.

According to shipping reports and vessel movements tracked by Bloomberg, the tanker Ocean Mariner was last seen en route to the Cuban capital at 2.39 p.m. UTC on Friday and was expected to arrive at its destination at 3 a.m.

The vessel departed the Pajaritos Petrochemical complex, operated by state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), in Mexico’s Veracruz state on Jan. 5. The news was reported earlier by Agence France-Presse.

Neither President Claudia Sheinbaum’s office nor Pemex responded immediately to a request for comment outside of office hours.

Mexico has become a key supplier of oil to the Caribbean island after the US captured Maduro, generating criticism from American lawmakers and further straining ties between Sheinbaum’s administration and President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, Sheinbaum said that Mexico will continue supplying oil to Cuba, describing the shipments in part as humanitarian aid.

“With the current situation in Venezuela, Mexico has become an important supplier,” she told reporters at her daily press conference on Wednesday. “Previously it was Venezuela, but it’s part of what has historically been sent.”

Sheinbaum said some of Mexico’s oil exports to Cuba are covered by contractual obligations.

https://gcaptain.com/mexico-oil-shipment-reaches-cuba-increasing-tensions-with-us/