How Vitol Won Venezuela’s Oil Deal After a Call to a Trader Tied to JD Vance
A Reuters investigation published on November 11 has raised fresh questions about how the world’s largest independent oil trader won one of the Trump administration‘s most valuable Venezuela contracts — and about the role played by Vice President JD Vance’s personal network.
Two days after U.S. forces removed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, Energy Secretary Chris Wright called Vitol gasoline trader John Addison at his desk in Houston and offered the trading house the job of selling Venezuela’s crude. Within days, Vitol and its rival Trafigura held special U.S. licenses to market the oil, without any competitive bidding.
Reuters reported that Addison is an old friend and early financial backer of Vance, and that a U.S. official said Vance had told Wright that Addison was trustworthy — a conversation that, according to Addison, paved the way for the call. The Energy Department says Vance and Wright never discussed Venezuelan oil sales. Reuters did not report any finding of wrongdoing.
The Montana meeting both sides deny
The story begins a week before the U.S. operation in Venezuela. On December 27, 2025, Vance flew on Air Force Two to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport for a visit to the Yellowstone Club, an ultra-exclusive ski and golf resort in Montana, according to Reuters.
Flight records reviewed by Reuters show Addison’s private Embraer jet and the vice-presidential plane together on the tarmac at the airport, about an hour’s drive from the resort. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Vance met Addison there and that they talked about Venezuela. According to that person, who was given an account of the meeting from Addison, Vance was particularly interested to know how quickly Venezuelan crude could be sold if the United States hypothetically gained control of the country’s oil supplies. Addison assured him that Vitol was uniquely placed to do the job.
Both Addison and Vance’s office denied that any meeting took place. Addison told Reuters that anyone saying otherwise was making it up, and that he had never told anyone about such a discussion.
The January 5 call
On January 3, 2026, U.S. forces seized Maduro in an operation that killed up to 100 people. Two days later, Wright called Addison.
“I thought that he was just going to call to get an update on the market,” Addison told Reuters. Instead, Wright asked whether Vitol wanted to sell Venezuela’s crude. The administration was planning to start selling the South American OPEC nation’s oil to global buyers to finance its coming political transition.
Both Addison and the Department of Energy confirmed the call to Reuters. Within days, Vitol and Trafigura landed special licenses to sell Venezuela’s oil. The administration skipped competitive bidding, saying speed was needed to stabilize Venezuela’s economy.
Addison, 48, was not the obvious choice to receive the call. He was a senior trader at Vitol, not the firm’s regional CEO, and his book was U.S. gasoline, not Latin American crude. Vitol itself told Reuters that Addison lacked the technical knowledge to negotiate an international crude contract and that it brought in its crude team after the call.
Money, donations and denials
Addison gave $300,000 in 2022 to a political action committee backing Vance’s Ohio Senate run, according to Reuters’ reporting. A U.S. official confirmed to Reuters on condition of anonymity that Vance had told Wright that Addison was a trustworthy person in the energy industry.
The Department of Energy told Reuters in a statement that Vance and Wright never discussed the sales of Venezuelan oil, and that the department picked Vitol because it is the largest energy and commodity trader in the world.
Vitol and Trafigura said they had no advance knowledge of U.S. military operations in Venezuela. The terms of their agreements with state oil company PDVSA are confidential.
The scale of the business is large. Venezuela has exported more than 200 million barrels of oil this year, according to U.S. government data cited by Reuters, and the two traders have earned hundreds of millions of dollars marketing the crude. A Texas Christian University professor estimated to Reuters that traders made $3 to $3.50 a barrel. A confidential KPMG report showed the United States took in about $12 billion from Venezuelan oil sales and passed almost all of it back.
Related Articles
Why this matters
The report lands as the administration pushes to rebuild Venezuela’s oil sector with American companies. ExxonMobil signed a non-binding deal with PDVSA to assess a return to Venezuela after nearly 20 years, and Chevron is expanding its operations there. The question raised by the Reuters investigation is not whether the oil is being sold, but how the first and most lucrative marketing contracts were handed out — and whether personal connections to the vice president played a part.
Democratic lawmakers are already asking. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, wrote to Vitol and Trafigura in January asking how they secured their licenses and whether they had advance notice of military action.
Addison retired from Vitol in March after 17 years at the firm. He now chairs Wright’s energy policy advisory board, the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, a role that puts him advising the same secretary who placed the January 5 call.
Latest developments
The Energy Department has not changed its position since the Reuters report was published: it says Vitol was chosen on merit as the world’s largest energy trader, and that Vance and Wright never discussed Venezuelan oil sales. Vance’s office has denied the December 27 meeting in Montana, and Addison has denied it as well.
No government finding of wrongdoing has been reported, and no new investigation has been announced. What the Reuters reporting establishes is a documented chain of events — a December meeting that both sides deny, a January phone call that both sides confirm, and no-bid licenses that followed within days — and the questions it raises are now in the open for Congress and the public to weigh.
Frequently asked questions
Did Reuters find that JD Vance helped Vitol get the contract?
No. Reuters reported the connections, the flight records and the phone call, and it did not report any finding of wrongdoing. The Energy Department says Vance and Wright never discussed Venezuelan oil sales, and both Vance’s office and Addison deny the December meeting took place.
Who is John Addison?
Addison, 48, was a senior gasoline trader at the commodities giant Vitol and an early financial backer of Vance, giving $300,000 to a pro-Vance political action committee in 2022. He retired from Vitol in March 2026 and now co-chairs the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.
How much did Vitol and Trafigura make from Venezuelan oil?
Reuters reported the two companies have earned hundreds of millions of dollars marketing the crude. A Texas Christian University professor estimated traders made $3 to $3.50 per barrel, and a confidential KPMG report showed the United States took in about $12 billion from Venezuelan oil sales. The terms of the traders’ agreements with PDVSA are confidential.
Was there competitive bidding for the Venezuela oil licenses?
No. Vitol and Trafigura received special licenses within days of the January 5 call, without a competitive process. The administration said speed was needed to stabilize Venezuela’s economy.
The Reuters investigation does not answer whether personal ties influenced the award of the Venezuela oil contracts — but it documents the connections, the call and the timing in detail, and the denials from all sides leave the central question unresolved. The next test is whether Congress pursues the answers it sought in January.
Sources:
– Reuters (via WNCY), “How a Vitol trader’s ties to JD Vance helped land a prized Venezuela oil contract,” Nov 11, 2026 — https://wncy.com/2026/11/11/how-a-vitol-traders-ties-to-jd-vance-helped-land-a-prized-venezuela-oil-contract/
– OilPrice, “Vitol’s Venezuela Oil Windfall Traced to Trader’s Ties to JD Vance,” Nov 11, 2026 — https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Vitols-Venezuela-Oil-Windfall-Traced-to-Traders-Ties-to-JD-Vance.html
– MLQ, “Energy Secretary Wright called a Vance-backing Vitol trader two days after Maduro’s removal to offer Venezuelan crude, Reuters reports,” Nov 11, 2026 — https://mlq.ai/news/energy-secretary-wright-called-a-vance-backing-vitol-trader-two-days-after-maduros-removal-to-offer-venezuelan-crude-reuters-reports/
