Insiders: Companies are competing for ships and organizing operations to transport Venezuelan oil.

According to reports, four sources familiar with the matter said that after Venezuelan president Maduro stepped down, oil companies hoping to export new Venezuelan crude to the United States are hastily discussing finding tankers and organizing operations to safely transfer crude from ships and dilapidated Venezuelan ports. After Trump stated that Venezuela will transfer up to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the United States, trading companies and oil companies including Chevron, Vitol, and Trafigura are competing for the deals to export oil from Venezuela to the United States. Trafigura said in a meeting with the White House on Friday that their first ship will be loaded next week. In recent months, faced with US sanctions, Venezuela has been storing oil on tankers and has nearly filled up onshore storage tanks. The tankers used for loading oil are old, poorly maintained, and subject to sanctions. Sources said that due to liability and insurance requirements, even if the US issues permits, other ships cannot have direct contact with sanctioned ships.