US Gulf Coast refiners seen benefiting from increased use of heavy Venezuelan crude in General Energy News 26/01/2026 Some US Gulf Coast refiners are moving forward on US President Donald Trump’s promise to direct Venezuela’s heavy crude barrels away from China and into their cokers, increasing utilization and improving overall refinery economics. Venezuelan crude exports to the US are seen picking up from the most recent Energy Information Administration monthly data, which shows Venezuelan crude exports averaging 135,000 b/d in October 2025, down from the 295,000 b/d in October 2024. “We estimate that PADD 3 refiners would be able to absorb an additional 300,000-400,000 b/d of heavy Venezuelan crude to raise coking utilization to 2024 levels,” according to a December report from S&P Global CERA. “As PADD 3 crude runs are already near recent historical highs, this would likely result in US-origin light, sweet barrels being backed out and having to clear to the export market,” the report added. However, not all US refiners were as enthusiastic about Venezuelan heavy crude as President Trump, due in part to a checkered history between Venezuela and US oil companies. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods’s reserved demeanor at US President Donald Trump’s Jan. 9 meeting with oil executives was no surprise. For Woods, the prospect of rebuilding Venezuela’s shattered oil industry is fraught with history: ExxonMobil has been forced out of the country twice—most notably in 2007, when Venezuela nationalized the company’s 42% stake in the Cerro Negro oil project. And from a refining point of view, ExxonMobil also appeared to have soured on running Venezuelan crude. On Nov. 1, 2015, ExxonMobil along with its Venezuelan joint-venture partner PDV Chalmette, sold the Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery to PBF Energy. PBF’s then CEO, Tom Nimbley, speaking in Sept. 2016 at a Barclays conference, said the refinery had a lot upside, but noted “dysfunctionality” on refinery operations. “It was clearly being impacted significantly by a broken marriage, a joint venture between ExxonMobil and PDVSA that simply was not functional….”, he said. PBF’s Chalmette purchase included 40,000 – 60,000 b/d of Venezuelan crude. But, in 2017, even before US sanctions, PBF stopped importing Venezuelan crude over a clash in terms as the cash-strapped producer began asking for cargo prepayment on the crudes. In 2015, PBF imported 22,449,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude or just over 61,000 b/d and in 2024, PBF imported about 5 million barrels of Venezuelan crude or about 14,000 b/d, Energy Information Administration data showed. A PBF spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on any plans to run more Venezuelan crude, which is expected by many analysts to be priced at a $5/b discount to competitor Western Canada Select. PBF also can bring heavy Venezuelan crude up to its two East Coast refineries. However, Chalmette, along with other US refiners that have processed Venezuelan crudes, including ExxonMobil at its Baytown and Baton Rouge facilities, have the ability to increase throughput. USGC prime destination for Venezuelan crude The USGC refineries have always been a good fit for Venezuelan crude. In addition to Venezuelan Citgo’s US three refineries, refineries like Chalmette and the now-shuttered LyondellBasell Houston plant were built to run Venezuelan crude, given its ample supply and favorable logistics. Rebuilding the country’s oil infrastructure would allow some refiners