CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — One million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil have arrived in Corpus Christi and will be refined at Citgo under a new agreement involving the U.S. government.
North American Blue Energy Partners, also known as NABEP, says two tankers carrying the oil made the trip from Venezuela to the Coastal Bend. The company says the first million barrels were provided to the U.S. government at no cost to taxpayers.
President Donald Trump broke the news at his rally Tuesday afternoon, "and one of the many reasons we did it here, we have a little breaking news. You have a little ship. See that little ship out there. It's got 1 million barrels of oil on it from Venezuela," Trump said.
In a statement, the CEO of NABEP, Alejandro Betancourt, said this cargo reached Texas in just over a week. Crude from the Middle East can take more than a month.
Trump touted the deal, saying it will bring prices down.
"And it'll be refined right here in Texas, including right here in Corpus Christi. And you'll see, it will happen very quickly. You, it'll be like a blink. Gasoline and diesel prices will soon come down. They'll come plummeting down for the for the consumer," Trump said.
The shipment is the first under a large deal that allows the government to purchase 20% of NABEP's production at cost with no markup, in addition to a 35% stake in the company.
The company says the first delivery is expected to be followed by more shipments to the U.S.
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