In a move officials say will attempt to pressure Venezuela’s Maduro government stepping down, the US has imposed broad sanctions on the nation’s state-run oil firm PDVSA. The sanctions are expected to greatly reduce Venezuelan oil exports to the US.



The US didn’t formally ban Venezuelan oil from entering the US. They did, however, require that all payment for that oil go into a “blocked account” that the Maduro government can’t access. Effectively this means they can keep sending oil to the US, but the US won’t necessarily be paying for it.



It is expected that Venezuela will start expecting tankers bound for the US to pay at the port instead, and President Maduro accused the US of trying to steal PDVSA’s US refinery company, Citgo, it’s most valuable asset.



It’s not clear what Citgo’s immediate plans are, but other refiners say they don’t expect any disruption in overall supply from the Venezuelan sanctions.

Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz