US Secretary of Energy: The actual selling price of Venezuelan crude oil has risen by 30% compared to three weeks ago.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday that the U.S. has started selling oil from Venezuela following the arrest of former Venezuelan President Maduro. Currently, the actual selling price of crude oil that the U.S. receives from Venezuela is approximately 30% higher than the price that Venezuela was selling the same type of crude oil for a few weeks ago. Speaking at an event at the U.S. Energy Association, Wright said, "The actual price of the equivalent barrel of oil that we are selling now is about 30% higher than it was three weeks ago." Wright did not provide detailed information on the price of oil sales before and after Maduro's arrest. Last week, U.S. President Trump stated that Venezuela will transfer 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. to be sold at market prices. A U.S. official told the media on Wednesday that the U.S. has already completed the first batch of Venezuelan oil sales as part of a $2 billion agreement reached between Caracas and Washington earlier this month. The first batch is valued at $500 million. Previously, due to U.S. sanctions and a large influx of sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran, the Venezuelan state oil company (PDVSA) was forced to sell its Merey heavy crude oil at a significant discount (about $14 per barrel lower than December Brent crude oil futures prices) in order to find buyers, mainly from Asia. The current U.S.-led sales have been more effectively integrated into the market, possibly taking advantage of the special demand from refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast that are specialized in processing this type of heavy crude oil, resulting in higher market prices.