By Marianna Parraga and Matt Spetalnick

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON – Two people familiar with the situation said that the United States has demanded Venezuela provide at least a part of its oil exports to the United States in order to lift oil trade sanctions against OPEC members.

As a reprisal for Ukraine’s invasion, Joe Biden (the U.S. president) banned imports of Russian oil from the United States on Tuesday. This increased economic pressure on an important ally of Venezuela.

U.S. diplomats worked hard to locate energy sources worldwide to compensate for the disruptions to Russian oil exports due to war or sanctions. On Saturday, the United States met Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s President in Caracas to begin bilateral discussions.

Venezuela, which has been subject to U.S. crude oil sanctions since 2019, could reverse those restrictions if they were removed.

According to Reuters, U.S. officials stated that their top priority was to ensure supplies for America. According to sources, officials informed their Venezuelan counterparts of the condition that Venezuela ship oil directly into the United States.

Prior to this, the United States did not make any restrictions on cargoes that were allowed under sanctions waivers.

Requests for comment were not received immediately by the U.S. Department of State or Venezuelan state-run energy company PDVSA.

Chevron If Maduro is able to reach a deal, Corp (NYSE:), which was the last U.S.-based oil producer in Venezuela could become the first beneficiary. Since 2020, Chevron was prohibited from shipping Venezuelan crude oil through its joint ventures. However, Chevron is pushing to lift the ban.

Chevron spokesmen declined to discuss U.S. talks. He stated that the company is in compliance with current U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions.

California-based firm has special licensing that permits it to keep a low-level presence within the country. This is only for the safety and maintenance of its facilities.

According to Reuters, Chevron sought permission from the U.S. Treasury Department for Venezuelan oil cargoes to be traded to repay its debt. The license expires in June. Chevron is seeking the revision permit in order to repay hundreds of millions dollars in debts unpaid and dividends owed from its joint ventures.

Chevron might be able, if Washington lifts sanctions, to resume Venezuelan production and exports to other U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, according one source.

Chevron had no immediate comment.

The weekend talks were a failure as Washington sought to determine the possibilities of Maduro’s disengagement from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. The parties reached an agreement to continue talks.

According to one source, the sides reached what one expert called “maximalist” negotiation positions. Washington demanded free elections for President and the release of Americans in Venezuelan jails. Maduro requested a broad lifting of all sanctions.

The most important topic, however was energy. According to sources, the parties talked about returning Venezuelan oil from markets affected by Russian supply disruptions and how PDVSA could temporarily gain access to international bank transfers.

Capitol Hill was a hotbed of reaction to the meeting. New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez as well as other U.S. lawmakers criticised Maduro’s efforts to reach out. Maduro is currently subject U.S. sanction for his human rights abuses.

This U.S. engagement is necessary because Venezuela’s financial stability to Russia, which was weakened by Moscow’s bombardment of Ukraine, has begun to deteriorate. Washington has frozen Venezuela’s Russian bank accounts that are blacklisted.

The U.S.’s ban on Russia-imports caused oil prices to rise 5% more on Tuesday. This was 670,000 barrels per hour in 2021. Britain announced that it would phase out Russian imports by the end of this year.

Last year, Venezuela’s oil production increased by 636,000 barrels per day after a free fall. While officials have stated that it could increase production and exports by increasing spending, analysts think there’s little scope for any further growth without significant new spending.

Many refiners along the U.S. Gulf Coast, which were previously importing Russian barrels, could resume processing Venezuelan heavy oils and fuels, one of their preferred feedstocks for specialized units.

U.S. Valero Energy Citgo Petroleum and Chevron were top U.S. oil buyers.