The U.S. Didn’t Buy a Drop of Saudi Oil in July — the First Time in 41 Years
The U.S. Didn’t Buy a Drop of Saudi Oil in July — the First Time in 41 Years
Rich DupreyFri, August 7, 2026 at 3:30 PM UTC
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24/7 Wall St.Quick Read -
U.S. Saudi crude imports crashed from 800,000 barrels per day in March to zero in July, marking the first complete monthly shutdown since 1985.
Venezuelan crude filled the gap, jumping from 100,000 to 600,000 barrels per day after Treasury expanded sanctions licenses following the ouster of Maduro's government.
Valero wins on refining complexity built for heavy sour crude, while Chevron carries the highest upside and political risk through its exclusive Venezuela operating license.
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Energy markets have spent 2026 relearning a lesson investors forget in calm years: supply chains built over four decades can unravel in four months. The Strait of Hormuz shutdown scrambled Middle East crude flows, a U.S. naval blockade briefly cut Venezuela off from the water entirely, and Washington has spent the past several months rewriting the sanctions rulebook that governs who gets to buy Venezuelan barrels.
Now the fallout is showing up in the government's own numbers. Preliminary data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration confirms that U.S. refiners imported zero barrels of Saudi crude in July -- the first time that's happened since 1985.
The Numbers Behind the Reversal
As recently as March, U.S. refiners were buying more than 800,000 barrels of Saudi crude a day, according to the EIA. By July, that number was zero for the entire month. Occasional weekly readings have hit zero before, but a full month without a single Saudi barrel hasn't happened in over 40 years.
Hormuz-related disruptions choked off Gulf crude flows and pushed prices on Middle East grades higher, so refiners went shopping elsewhere. Venezuela absorbed most of the difference: U.S. imports of its crude rose to roughly 600,000 barrels a day in July, up from about 100,000 barrels a day in January.
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That jump coincided with Washington's expanded access to Venezuelan oil. Following the ouster of the Maduro government, the Treasury Department authorized U.S. entities to lift, purchase, and transport Venezuelan crude, extending beyond Chevron (NYSE:CVX) to include BP (NYSE:BP), Eni (NYSE:E), Repsol, and Shell (NYSE:SHEL). The EIA said in February that it expected Venezuelan output to climb back toward its pre-blockade level of 1.1 million to 1.2 million barrels a day by mid-2026.
Who Wins From the Venezuela Pivot
Two kinds of companies benefit here, and they're not the same trade. Refiners with the metallurgy to process Venezuela's heavy, high-sulfur crude get cheaper feedstock and wider crack spreads. Chevron gets something rarer: a license that lets it operate inside Venezuela at all.
Company
P/E Ratio
Dividend Yield
Venezuela/Heavy Crude Angle
Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)
12.3
1.6%
Gulf Coast refineries built for heavy sour crude; among refiners named as candidates to resume PDVSA purchases
Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC)
10.2
1.3%
Diversified feedstock slate limits direct Venezuela exposure
Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)
11.6
2.4%
Cut Middle East crude to under 1% of slate
Chevron
17.9
3.7%
Venezuela output near 250,000 bpd pre-restriction, cut to ~100,000 bpd last summer; negotiating with Treasury to expand its license
Valero's complexity -- its refineries are built to run heavy, discounted crudes rather than light sweet grades -- is exactly the asset class this shift rewards. Chevron's position is different: it's the only U.S. major with standing operations in Venezuela, and its ability to negotiate a bigger license is a regulatory catalyst, not just a commodity one. Surprisingly, that makes Chevron's Venezuela business more of a binary political outcome than a refining-margin story.
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From 800,000 barrels to zero in mere months: witness the most violent shift in global energy flows in four decades. © 24/7 Wall St.
The Risks Investors Shouldn't Ignore
None of this is permanent, and it shouldn't be treated as such. Kpler forecasts Saudi shipments to the U.S. rebounding to roughly 300,000 barrels a day this month -- back near historical norms. Granted, that's still down from March's 800,000-barrel pace, but it shows how quickly a "generational shift" headline can revert once alternate trade routes are found.
Venezuela carries its own tail risk. Every barrel flowing north still depends on a sanctions license that the Treasury can amend or revoke, and PDVSA's infrastructure spent years underinvested before the blockade. In any case, refiners leaning hard into Venezuelan crude are betting on the durability of a political decision, not just a supply contract.
Key Takeaway
The zero-Saudi-barrel month is a real data point, not a permanent state of affairs -- expect Saudi volumes to partially recover if Hormuz-related disruptions ease. For investors, the more durable trade sits with refiners that can process heavy Venezuelan crude at a discount, with Valero best positioned on refining complexity and Chevron carrying the highest upside -- and the highest political risk -- through its Venezuela license.
Sharp investors should track Treasury's licensing decisions as closely as EIA's monthly import data. In this market, the regulator is setting the crude flows as much as the refiners are.
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Contact editorial@247wallst.com for any questions or corrections.
Source: “AOL Money”
