ISTANBUL

The US intends to permit trading firms, other than Vitol Group and Trafigura Group, to buy Venezuelan crude oil, a government official told Bloomberg on Tuesday.

The official said all Venezuelan oil supply agreements would need to go through the US market as part of the upcoming authorization, which is anticipated to comprise a broad license relaxing current sanctions.

The move represents a change from the strategy employed for up to 50 million barrels of oil in the first round of exports from Venezuela following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

Before Maduro was arrested on Jan. 3, a partial US blockade had been in place for weeks, causing the oil to accumulate in storage tanks and ships.

With US refiners considering purchasing oil directly from state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), Vitol and Trafigura may suddenly face competition in a potentially profitable trade, according to the report.

A more expansive license would probably speed up the decongestion of Venezuelan storage tanks and ports, allowing some suspended oil wells to progressively resume production.

Last week, an American government official told CNN that the US finalized its first sale of Venezuelan oil, amounting to $500 million.

The official added that more oil sales are anticipated in the upcoming days and weeks.​​​​​​​