Venezuela has resumed crude exports to Spain and Italy, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data Feb. 12.

Venezuela exported 2 million barrels of crude to Spain so far in February, marking the first shipments since February 2025.

The resumption follows the US seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3, which preceded a shift in Washington's approach to Venezuelan oil trade.

Spanish refiner Repsol, which had been a regular buyer of Venezuelan Merey-16 crude prior to the export halt, is among the companies restarting purchases as the eased restrictions open access to competitively priced heavy barrels for European refiners.

Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz San Miguel said Jan. 9 that the Spanish company was "ready to invest more in Venezuela and triple production there in the next two or three years."

Repsol currently produces 45,000 b/d of oil in Venezuela, Miguel said during a fourth-quarter earnings call on Jan. 9.

Currently, Repsol has a 40% stake in the Petroquiriquire Occidente joint venture with PDVSA.

Previously, Repsol had flagged the absence of Venezuelan crude as a factor weighing on its refining performance in recent quarters, with the company's third-quarter results showing its refining margin indicator premium fell to 70 cents/b.

Margins were "negatively impacted by the turnaround of Cartagena [refinery] and planned maintenance at the C43 biofuels unit and the absence of crude shipments from Venezuela," Repsol CEO said in the third-quarter earnings call on Oct. 30, 2025.

At least two cargoes of Merey-16 crude are en route to Spain, with each vessel carrying approximately 1.05 million barrels, according to MINT vessel tracking data.

The Nissos Sifnos is transporting Merey-16 sold by trading house Vitol to an undisclosed buyer, while the Nissos Koufonissi is delivering the same crude grade sold by Trafigura to Repsol, the data showed.

Prior to February 2025, Spain had been a consistent buyer of Venezuelan heavy crude, with Repsol making routine purchases of Merey-16, a heavy, sour grade with a typical API gravity of around 16.

Repsol had maintained its operational presence in Venezuela throughout the period of restricted crude exports, focusing primarily on gas production for the domestic market.

Through its joint venture with PDVSA, Repsol maintains an interest in the country's upstream sector with plans to increase production and to restart exports of Venezuelan crude.

Repsol was not available for immediate comment.

Similarly, Italy's Eni has also resumed its purchases of Venezuelan crude, with 900,000 barrels of exports to the country month to date--last seen prior in March 2025 at 995,000 barrels.

According to MINT vessel data, the Poliegos crude tanker is delivering around 1.02 million barrels of Merey-16, sold by Vitol to an unknown buyer.

Eni has also expressed interest in resuming its crude exports out of the country and has applied for the licensing required to do so, according to media reports.

Eni's main asset in Venezuela is Cardon IV, its 50-50 joint venture with Spain's Repsol that supplies gas from the Perla field to PDVSA.