01-12-26 savo
JP
The bilateral commercial arrangement and the January 9 EO
President Trump on January 6 announced that the U.S. would be selling sanctioned barrels of Venezuelan oil and channeling proceeds into U.S. accounts. The proceeds, he said, would go to purchase American goods and services to help revive the Venezuelan economy and oil sector.
A subsequent Energy Department Fact Sheet clarified the following:
The United States government has begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil in the global marketplace for the benefit of the United States, Venezuela, and our allies. We have engaged the world’s leading commodity marketers and key banks to execute and provide financial support for these crude oil and crude products sales.
All proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil and oil products will first settle in U.S. controlled accounts at globally recognized banks to guarantee the legitimacy and integrity of the ultimate distribution of proceeds.
These funds will be disbursed for the benefit of the American people and the Venezuelan people at the discretion of the U.S. government. These oil sales begin immediately with the anticipated sale of approximately 30 – 50 million barrels. They will continue indefinitely.
The only oil transported in and out of Venezuela will be through legitimate and authorized channels consistent with U.S. law and national security.
The United States is selectively rolling back sanctions to enable the transport and sale of Venezuelan crude and oil products to global markets.
The Energy Department went on to note that U.S. diluent will be supplied to Venezuela to help optimize its heavy crude oil production and transport. The U.S. will also authorize imports of vital oil field equipment and services to support immediate growth and modernization, leveraging American and international expertise. Additionally, efforts will be made to improve Venezuela’s fragile electricity grid, which is crucial for boosting oil output and enhancing daily life.
Shielding oil proceeds from creditors. Beyond the basic guidelines and principles of the arrangement, President Trump on January 9 filled in some key details with an Executive Order. The EO clarified that the proceeds of the U.S.-directed oil sales would go into so-called “Foreign Government Deposit Funds” that would “constitute property of the Government of Venezuela and do not constitute the property of any private party, including judgment creditors of Venezuela”. The U.S. Government would hold these funds in a custodial nature, and Secretary Rubio will determine the use of funds on behalf of the Government of Venezuela for the stated sovereign purposes of “compliance with international obligations, the performance of government functions, and the maintenance of diplomatic and foreign policy objectives”. Of note, sovereign immunity is not waved. In essence, the EO clarifies that the US-directed, Venezuela-owned oil proceeds accumulating in the fund will be shielded from creditors and will not be attachable to satisfy judgments.
We think the initial assertion of sovereign immunity over the Venezuelan “Foreign Government Deposit Funds” is logical for an orderly launch of this new, innovative vehicle. However, it will raise questions about how quickly and with what emphasis creditors will be dealt with going forward—especially taken alongside some of President Trump’s comments in the recent White House gathering of oil executives to discuss Venezuela.
In that meeting held on January 9, Conoco’s CEO noted that his company had seen assets worth $12bn expropriated, leaving them as the largest “non-sovereign” creditor of Venezuela. Moreover, he commented that financial sector creditors also should be brought into the room, suggesting the need for a comprehensive restructuring to restore financing to the country. On that point, President Trump responded “we are going to start with an even plate, though; we are not going to look at what people lost in the past because that was their fault, that was a different president….”. The president also commented that the company would have had “a good write-off” and would be able to “make it back, one way or the other”. |
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01-12-26 savo
| precious metals kick-starting the week on turbo mode. |
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01-11-26 carib
Khamenei & partners meeting the 72 virgins quickly should be a win-win, as we say..
(except for the said virgins, but luckily they are merely imaginary) |
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01-11-26 carib
Victor: I doubt, because NM is an usurper.
diplomatic immunity requires accreditation, or accepted entry with diplomatic passport.
Pinochet was detained when in the UK for medical treatment.. because he id not enter with a valid diplomatic passport, if my memory is correct |
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01-11-26 victor
Retired general urges Trump to give Iran 'one more warning' as US reportedly weighs intervention
Gen Jack Keane says Trump should issue final warning before targeting those responsible for violent crackdowns
Retired Gen. Jack Keane called on the Trump administration to confront Iran’s leadership head-on, urging a final warning before taking action against officials he says are responsible for violently cracking down on protesters.
"The president has told them, ‘If you kill them, I’m coming for you,’" Keane said during an appearance on "Life, Liberty & Levin" on Saturday.
"They’ve already killed more than 40 people, and they’ve jailed many more. And in jail, they will execute them."
As nationwide anti-regime demonstrations across Iran hit the two-week mark, Keane argued that President Donald Trump should now follow through by issuing one last warning before targeting those responsible for maintaining an iron grip on the population.
"I think the president could give one more warning and then take down some of the leaders responsible for conducting violence against the Iranian population," Keane said.
"I believe that we have the leverage here to actually curtail this behavior."
This comes as multiple Israeli sources told Reuters that the Trump administration is weighing possible U.S. military intervention.
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01-11-26 carib
| Limelight is currently on Tehran. |
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01-11-26 victor
2 hours ago
Primero Justicia
Se cumplen 72 horas desde que Jorge Rodríguez anunció una liberación masiva de presos políticos que no se ha efectuado.
Exigimos la liberación plena, inmediata e incondicional de todos los presos políticos civiles y militares.
No nos detendremos hasta que Venezuela tenga justicia y democracia para todos.
Libérenlos a todos.
9:57 AM · Jan 11, 2026
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01-11-26 victor
savo, there are many plans in the pipeline.
but in terms of concretion, nothing has been done yet.
except free a few political prisoners. |
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01-11-26 savo
victor..
i think what the US is doing could have been done with Maduro in place too but for whatever reason the US decided that Maduro handcuffed to NY and 100 cubans dead in the process was a good message...
The point is that sanctions are being removed, without an election, and with the same people as before Trump plans to rebuild veni. Once finished MCM can be president.
If it works we get our money back.. |
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01-11-26 spal
U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY WRIGHT: VENEZUELAN OIL COULD BE USED TO REFILL THE SPR.
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01-11-26 victor
| savo, technically, nm still has diplomatic immunity. |
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01-11-26 victor
savo, Maduro...move on... he was the figure head
//
for the time being, there is no moving away from nm.
as of today, he is the recognized president by vz.
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01-11-26 savo
victor... you have a fixation with Maduro...move on... he was the figure head... and as such was removed so that the regime could be maintained. Of course under supervision which was always my point... better to work with the guys that are there than to reinvent a new government with people that have proved to be very incompetent during the Guaido fiasco.
It is right that Trump meets with MCM... she will eventually be president of Veni because that is what the people want...
but not for now as she is not very clever ...
veni is a mess.. it needs clever people that know how the system works...
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01-11-26 carib
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01-11-26 spal
6 B-2 Spirits just landed at Diego Garcia. That’s half the entire U.S. stealth fleet.
Dozens of KC-135 tankers have surged to Qatar since Jan 5th.
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Iran - apparently soon. |
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01-11-26 spal
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01-11-26 carib
As foreign minister of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro travelled to Damascus in 2007 for a highly publicised meeting with then-president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, en route to Tehran.Maduro was ostensibly in the region to strengthen his country’s ties with others similarly hostile to Washington.
But behind closed doors, his visit had another purpose: a secret meeting with a senior Hizbollah commander, integral to its overseas operations.
an orange outfit is the right garb, now. |
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01-11-26 carib
Así, "¡NO HABRÁ MÁS PETRÓLEO NI DINERO (de Venezuela) PARA CUBA!": "¡CERO! Les sugiero (a Cuba) que lleguen a un acuerdo antes de que sea demasiado tarde", añadió el republicano, que desde la captura de Nicolás Maduro vienen pronosticando que el gobierno cubano caerá pronto.
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01-11-26 carib
SPAL: I would say..
for new ventures, the issue is in how many years to amortise the new investment.
with zero political risk, the duration could safely be long.
Besides, the big issue is which taxes or royalties must be paid to Veny.
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01-11-26 spal
All those numbers presented by whoever spal is quoting are absolute nonsense... and of no importance whatsoever...oil companies will queue to go back into veni..because they know perfectly well that oil prices are now being repressed by whatever agreement trump has made with the saudis...
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This argument has zero to do with the production challenges and everything to to do with someone who thinks they have a fix on the price of oil ... if so the you would make a hell of a lot more money simply expressing that view on the futures market ... but here you are stuck for a decade in Venezuelan bonds. |
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01-11-26 spal
Carib - Chevron has an advantage, as you stated, it is operating off fully amortized equipment. The estimates I read are that its marginal cost is $25-30 (that includes lifting, blending and transport). It has sunk capital and deferred maintenance. It has legacy joint ventures (Petroboscan, Petropiar, Petroindependiente) it has existing wells, staff, pipelines, and export pathways. So $25-30 is the cost to Chevron of keeping “existing barrels” flowing. This is NOT the same as entering cold.
Now Chevron probably won’t want to share its advantages - logically. And it will have difficulties scaling them.
Chevron can:
Hold production flat
Incrementally raise output (10–20%)
Capture cash flow at $60
Chevron cannot:
Double or triple production
Rebuild national infrastructure
Finance upgraders and pipelines
Chevron is:
Extracting legacy value
Not rebuilding the system
Acting as a cash-flow scavenger, not a development investor
Remember also:
Venezuelan crude sold at $15–$25/bbl discounts via opaque channels.
Middlemen (often Chinese or Russian traders) captured $5–$10/bbl in arbitrage.
Venezuela netted maybe $40–45/bbl on oil trading at ~$60 Brent.
So the 1&2 are the only things removed from the scenario. These are the main initial effects of removing sanctions. The rest depends on increased production and if you understand the above you will acknowledge the challenge.
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01-11-26 carib
Agree with Victor, on this, but it's water under the bridge, now.
Getting rid of Diosdado next step. |
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01-11-26 victor
| savo, telling cuba "no more oil or $$" is moving forward, not rewinding. |
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01-11-26 victor
savo, The US is rewinding on a policy that failed during 8 years
//
not true.
yielding to nm, as you wanted, would've been rewinding.
putting nm in a federal prison is moving forward, as in panama. |
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01-11-26 victor
savo, nm was arrested only a week ago.
and it's not whatever.
it's holding a gun over dr & co's head.
the fact is that dt has agreed to meet mcm this coming week. |
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01-11-26 savo
merlino .. little we knew about the magnitude and impact of sanctions coming against Veni
sanctions that achieved nothing other than completing the destruction of an economy initiated by Chavez and forced a default
Gladly the US decided to end with that nonsense and start the reconstruction of veni. |
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01-11-26 savo
victor..
whatever..
the regime is collaborating...
sanctions are being removed...
The US is rewinding on a policy that failed during 8 years
and there were no free and fair elections or an opposition puppet...
the puppet is the same regime
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01-11-26 Merlino
| I.e we have been buying into 2017 decreasing prices bcz it made technical/valuation sense to us...little we knew about the magnitude and impact of sanctions coming against Veni |
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01-11-26 Merlino
The part that I do not know is were do we creditor fit in that scheme.
...............................
Bond mkt prices will increasingly incorporate all info public and inside one I presume |
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01-11-26 victor
savo, which is what I have been saying for years... first lift sanctions
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not really.
first remove nm by force, to show dr & co what's coming to them if they don't collaborate, then the rest.
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01-11-26 victor
Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided “Security Services” for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE! Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last weeks U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years. Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will. THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT
Jan 11, 2026, 6:27 AM |
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01-11-26 savo
us-may-lift-more-venezuela-sanctions-next-week-bessent-says-2026-01-10
as said many times... removing sanctions takes 5 seconds... "select all" and "delete".
easier than doing a Gaza and killing 70,000 innocent people to remove a regime that is delighted to collaborate anyway. |
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01-11-26 savo
victor...if the US is going to hold the cash they have to protect it from disorganized claims.
At some point somebody will have to sit with all creditors and find some kind of agreement.
I do not know how that will be done or when given that the US plan is for "a long time".
We knew the US wanted to install a puppet as president of Veni. MCM thought that puppet was going to be her or somebody nominated by her.
What the opposition never imagined was that the puppet was going to be the regime itself (more easily controllable than a psychotic woman)...which is what I have been saying for years... first lift sanctions... then let the economy recover... then free and fair elections.
The part that I do not know is were do we creditor fit in that scheme. |
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01-11-26 leopardo
| https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-may-lift-more-venezuela-sanctions-next-week-bessent-says-2026-01-10/ |
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01-11-26 savo
and there is a third element and the most important one... future oil prices about which nobody has a clue.
All those numbers presented by whoever spal is quoting are absolute nonsense... and of no importance whatsoever...oil companies will queue to go back into veni..because they know perfectly well that oil prices are now being repressed by whatever agreement trump has made with the saudis...
with copper at 13,000 silver at 80 ..gold at 4500..etc... and the fed In QE mode for the foreseeable future to finance a 2 trn fiscal deficit...oil at 60 is out of wack with reality.
Exxon may not be interested having a pretty good deal day-light robbing Guyana.. but other companies do not have a country to loot.
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01-11-26 carib
Iran has been cut off from the outside world since Thursday after the regime imposed a near total internet blackout and shut down communications in the republic.
Hope protestors will not get butchered, but the Iran clerics should rot in hell.. |
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01-11-26 carib
Spal: it is no secret, sadly.
But going back to "production costs".. I think there are two different components:
1) initial investment required, amortised in XX years
2) actual opex of extraction+refining
For example, Chevron already has, and fully amortised, its Orinoco oil refining facility in Pescagoula, Mississippi. |
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01-11-26 savo
Exclusive: US may lift more Venezuela sanctions next week, Bessent says
By David Lawder
January 10, 2026
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-may-lift-more-venezuela-sanctions-next-week-bessent-says-2026-01-10/
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