Phillips 66, Citgo Look to Directly Buy Venezuelan Crude

U.S. refiners Phillips 66 and Citgo Petroleum are seeking to buy heavy crude directly from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA starting in April to maximize profits, rather than purchasing through trading houses and U.S. oil major Chevron, according to sources familiar with the efforts.

Trading houses Trafigura and Vitol in January secured the first U.S. licenses to export Venezuelan oil as part of a $2 billion deal between Caracas and Washington. Chevron has held an authorization to operate there and ship crude since last year.

Refiners in the U.S. and other countries have been buying cargoes from the three companies. However, since U.S. President Donald Trump's administration issued a general license late last month that authorized broader oil exports from the OPEC country, the pool of buyers is expected to progressively expand, boosting trade to $5 billion over the next few months, U.S. officials have said.

Phillips 66, one of the biggest U.S. refiners, is seeking compliance and internal clearance to purchase directly from PDVSA, three sources said. Once the company is ready, it plans to charter tankers to load the crude at PDVSA's terminals, one of the sources added. The sources spoke anonymously because of commercial sensitivities.

A Phillips