US refineries took in the most Venezuelan crude since 2017 in July, EIA says

American refineries processed 701,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan crude in July, according to the Energy Information Administration, a volume not seen since May 2017. The jump capped a steep run: monthly volumes were 39,000 barrels per day in August 2025, then climbed past 200,000 in January 2026 and 630,000 in June.

Help yourself and the planet: The Cool Down makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet, with smart, simple changes to save more and waste less in your everyday life.

Get The Cool Down →

We may earn a commission if you sign up.

August data showed a slight pullback to 655,000 barrels per day, still far above anything recorded in the last nine years. Behind the swing sit a captured president, lifted sanctions and a Middle East supply disruption that left Gulf Coast plants hunting for heavy barrels.

The EIA figures from August 2025 to August 2026

The EIA’s Today in Energy note puts July imports from Venezuela at 701,000 barrels per day and August at 655,000, both drawn from the agency’s Petroleum Supply Monthly. The monthly data series for Venezuelan imports fills in the climb: 102,000 in September 2025, 135,000 in October, 200,000 in January, 231,000 in February, 373,000 in March, 429,000 in April, 471,000 in May, 630,000 in June and 701,000 in July.

July’s 701,000 barrels per day was up 71,000 from June, an increase of about 11%, and August’s 655,000 still sits more than sixteen times above the 39,000 recorded a year earlier. The record is still far below the 1990s. Monthly imports reached 1,605,000 barrels per day in October 1997, more than double July’s level, and held above 1.5 million in several months through 2002. What changed in 2026 is how quickly the flow rebuilt from almost nothing, not that it matched past peaks.

Valero, Citgo and PBF at the front of the line

Argus Media, working from EIA data, reported that Valero took the most Venezuelan oil in July, 282,000 barrels per day across three refineries: Corpus Christi and Port Arthur in Texas and St. Charles in Louisiana. Argus Media’s rundown of importers puts Citgo second at 112,000 barrels per day and PBF Energy third at 84,000, with Phillips 66, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum and Deer Park Refining also taking cargoes.

The Texas Tribune, citing S&P Global Energy, reported that as of late July 43% of this year’s Venezuelan oil had gone to Texas Gulf Coast refiners and 39% to Louisiana, with the remainder reaching Mississippi and Delaware. More than ten Texas refineries can handle the heavy grade, the paper said, though it did not name them.

Sanctions, Maduro and the Strait of Hormuz

Argus ties the surge to events in January, when U.S. forces seized former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and Washington then lifted sanctions on Venezuela’s crude exports. Before that, only Chevron held a special waiver to operate there, which capped volumes. Chevron has since agreed to spend more than $7 billion over five years to double its Venezuelan production, Argus reported.

A second driver is geography. The Texas Tribune reported in July that the Strait of Hormuz has been closed on and off since late February after the war with Iran began, cutting Middle Eastern shipments to the Gulf Coast. Debnil Chowdhury, a refining analyst at S&P Global Energy, said Gulf Coast plants need whatever heavy crude they can get, and Venezuela’s grade fits the equipment those refineries already run.

Supply side limits remain. Venezuela produces about 1 million barrels per day, roughly half of it headed to the Gulf Coast, and the Tribune said production is expected to plateau near 1.15 million barrels per day in 2027, against a peak above 3 million in the late 1990s. Kyle Bertamini, a principal analyst at Enverus, said significant new investment is needed and will not bring meaningful volumes out of the ground until the early 2030s.

Supply from the Middle East shrank at the same time. The Texas Tribune said Saudi Arabia and Iraq together supplied more than 12% of crude imports into Texas and the broader Gulf Coast in 2025, and those volumes have nearly disappeared since a peace framework with Iran was abandoned. Venezuelan imports, the paper added, have nearly quadrupled since the strait first closed, which is why a refinery built to run heavy sour barrels has been paying close attention to every cargo leaving Venezuelan ports.

New money is following the barrels. Argus listed Continental Resources plans to operate and develop a crude block in the Orinoco belt with state-owned PdV, a White House deal under which Washington would take a 35% stake in a little-known company planning to invest $100 billion in 17 Venezuelan oil fields while buying at least 20% of future output at cost, and Halliburton agreements to support energy projects. In June, earthquakes in Venezuela killed more than 5,000 people; oil operations in the east and west were reported unaffected, though Chowdhury cautioned that redirecting money to relief could eventually touch production.

The open question is whether August’s 655,000 barrels per day is the start of a plateau or a one-month dip. EIA’s September figures, due in a later Petroleum Supply Monthly, will show whether refiners hold near 700,000 barrels per day or settle lower.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

Help yourself and the planet: Get The Cool Down →

We may earn a commission if you sign up.