Exclusively-US refiner Valero will import 6.5 million barrels of crude oil from Venezuela in March, sources say.

By Nicole Jao, Sharik Khan, Marianna Parraga and Arathi Somshekhar

NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Valero Energy is set to buy 6.5 million barrels of Venezuelan crude in March for its Gulf Coast refineries, making it the OPEC country’s top foreign refiner of oil since the United States ousted President Nicolas Maduro in January.

Valero was among the first US refiners to resume imports of Venezuelan crude after the United States struck a $2 billion oil supply deal with the country’s interim government and began easing sanctions. If Valero succeeds in snapping up 10 or more cargoes next month, the equivalent of about 210,000 barrels per day, it could overtake U.S. oil company Chevron as the top U.S. refiner of Venezuelan crude.

It will also be the most Venezuelan crude oil Velero will process after the United States first sanctioned the country’s oil industry in January 2019.

Chevron, the only U.S. major oil producer in Venezuela, is expected to increase Venezuela’s crude exports to 300,000 bpd in March from 220,000 bpd in January, sources told Reuters last month. Chevron typically refines up to half of those exports at its own refineries, and sells the rest to other U.S. refiners.

The bulk of Chevron’s sales of Venezuelan oil to U.S. refiners usually goes to Valero. In March, Chevron is expected to supply Valero with most of the volume the refiner plans to import, six sources said.

Velero has also negotiated some cargoes from trading houses including Trafigura, which was the first company authorized by the US government last month to join Chevron in trading Venezuelan oil.

Vitol has separately scheduled three naphtha cargoes to be delivered to Venezuela’s state company PDVSA between February 22 and March 3, according to shipping plans seen by Reuters.

Sources cautioned that the loading schedules have not been finalized and are still subject to revision. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.

Vitol and Trafigura declined to comment. Chevron and PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A Valero spokeswoman referred to comments made by executive Randy Hawkins following the release of fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 29. In those comments, Hawkins confirmed that Valero is in talks with authorized sellers of Venezuelan crude and expects to make a “very large portion” of its heavy crude purchases in February and March.

Valero, the second-largest U.S. refining network capable of processing Venezuela’s heavy oil, had a long-term supply deal to buy crude from PDVSA before the U.S. sanctions.