Traders Push for Discounts for Venezuelan Oil as Shipping Costs Soar

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Global oil trading firms Vitol and Trafigura are pushing for steeper discounts on Venezuelan crude oil as rising freight rates shrink their margins, five sources familiar with the matter said.

The two merchant houses have been among the biggest winners in a race to control Venezuela’s crude flows since the US captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in January and began pushing to reactivate the country’s oil sector.

They now sell and ship more than half of the OPEC member’s exports, and the negotiations for cheaper prices highlight the challenges of operating in Venezuela’s volatile energy sector, which until