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The country of Venezuela has battled through tumultuous times under United States sanctions, a poor refining network has caused gasoline shortages as well as political and social upheaval. Another country that has also been under similar scrutiny and sanctions from the United States for comparison is Iran.  Over the past month, Iran has sent dozens of plane loads to Venezuela, consisting of equipment and chemicals necessary to produce gasoline as well as technicians to help jumpstart the dilapidated refineries of the South American country.  In addition, five Iranian tankers are currently in route to Venezuela to help improve the growing shortage of gasoline that as of last month had consumers paying close to $8 per gallon.

On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro appointed his economy vice president, Tareck El Aissami as his new oil minister.  El Aissami’s appointment comes at a time where the country has been dealing with hyperinflation, declining oil production, shortages on basic goods and sanctions from the United States.  As if things could not get any more precarious for the OPEC nation, El Aissami was recently added to the list of America’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives on charges of drug trafficking. 

The Trump administration is not expected to grant the Chevon Corporation another waiver to operate in Venezuela as the United States begins planning to increase pressure through sanctions on the regime run by Nicolas Maduro.  The most recent waiver granted to Chevron is the fourth instance that has allowed Chevron to operate in the South American country since sanctions commenced in 2018.  The waiver is set to expire on April 22.

Last week, Iraq announced that they are holding a fifth bidding round for exploration and development of natural gas fields in the province of Diyala. Located in eastern Iraq, the fields of Diyala are expected to produce more than 750 million cubic feet of natural gas within the next three years.  This latest round of bidding for the country’s underdeveloped fields comes at a time where the United States has pressured the country to reduce its dependence on gas imports from Iran.

President Trump recently threatened to tax, nearly $300 billion dollars of Chinese products, by 10%. The already volatile oil market, seems to have room for some extra volatility. The volatility would largely cycle around China’s response to the U.S. tariffs. If China responds by purchasing oil from Iran, analysts speculate crude could rapidly approach $30 per barrel. Trump could impose the sanctions on the Chinese imports as soon as September 1^st. Trump also threatened that he could raise the tariff, if no progress has been made towards a trade deal.