Vitol trader's Vance ties drew scrutiny over Venezuela oil contract

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Vitol trader Venezuela oil scrutiny

Highlights

Flight records and interviews show Vitol's Addison met with Vance shortly before Vitol and Trafigura secured Venezuela oil licenses on Jan. 9, raising scrutiny over ties.
Traders reportedly earn $3–$3.50 per barrel from Venezuelan crude exports exceeding 200 million barrels year-to-date, suggesting profits of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Addison donated $300,000 in 2022 to a PAC supporting Vance and $7 million in 2024 to pro-Trump committees before retiring from Vitol and joining Wright's advisory board.

Montana contact and license award timeline

As first reported by Reuters, flight records and interviews point to a previously unreported chain of contacts before Vitol secured one of the Trump administration's most sought-after energy licenses in Venezuela. Reuters reported that Addison, a senior Vitol gasoline trader and early political backer of Vance, said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright called him on Jan. 5, two days after the operation in Venezuela, to ask whether Vitol wanted to market the country's crude.

Addison told Reuters that Wright's call followed Vance's description of him as a trustworthy figure in the energy industry. A U.S. official also told Reuters that Vance had vouched for Addison in a conversation with Wright at least a year before the Jan. 5 call, although the Department of Energy said Vance and Wright never discussed the sales of Venezuelan oil and that Vitol was chosen because it is the world's largest energy and commodity trader.

Reuters also cited a person familiar with the matter as saying Vance and Addison met on Dec. 27 at Montana's Yellowstone Club and discussed how quickly Venezuelan crude could be sold if the U.S. gained control of the country's oil supplies. Vance's office and Addison denied that meeting took place, but flight records reviewed by Reuters showed Addison's private jet and Air Force Two on the tarmac at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport at the same time.

By Jan. 9, Vitol and Trafigura had both obtained licenses to sell Venezuelan oil. Addison then appeared at a televised White House meeting with Trump, ExxonMobil and Chevron executives, where he said the traders were there to help move the oil globally at the best possible price, while Vitol said its regional chief executive and crude team handled the technical side of the international contract.

Political fallout and profit questions

Democratic lawmakers are using the new details to press for answers on whether personal relationships influenced access to government business and whether traders had any advance notice of military action. Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee and its incoming chair, said the reporting raises further questions about who knew what and when, while Vitol and Trafigura said they had no prior knowledge of U.S. military operations in Venezuela.

The administration has defended skipping a competitive bidding process, arguing that rapid action after Maduro's seizure is necessary to stabilize Venezuela's economy and provide immediate funding for public services and debt restructuring. Trump has said the U.S. intends to control Venezuela's crude and revenues indefinitely and wants to draw $100 billion of investment from U.S. oil companies to revive output.

The commercial upside is substantial. Energy finance expert Tom Seng estimated the traders are making about $3 to $3.50 on every barrel sold, implying hundreds of millions of dollars in profit because Venezuela has exported more than 200 million barrels of crude so far this year, according to U.S. government data.

Addison's political profile is also drawing attention. Federal Election Commission records show he gave $300,000 in 2022 to a political action committee supporting Vance's Senate bid, while he and his wife later contributed $7 million in 2024 to committees including $5 million to Make America Great Again to support Trump's return to the White House.

Addison retired from Vitol at the end of March after calling Wright's Jan. 5 approach a career highlight, and he has since been named chairman of Wright's energy policy advisory board. An internal Vitol memo seen by Reuters described him as one of the most successful traders in the firm's history.

In a previous article, we explained how soaring oil tanker rates have been pushing up fuel and consumer costs worldwide.

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