What moves the US to approach possible relations with Venezuela?
1:22
(CNN) --
Venezuela will resume small crude oil exports to Europe in exchange for debt relief, two sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN.
The sources, who asked to remain anonymous due to the confidentiality of the deal, confirmed to CNN that two major European oil companies, ENI and Repsol, received authorization from the US Treasury Department to import crude oil from their operations in Venezuela despite of a series of sanctions against the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA.
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The resumption of exports is a major step forward from previous actions by Washington, which first sanctioned PDVSA in 2019 for its role in supporting the regime of authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.
It comes as oil companies around the world seek to increase production to respond to a spike in oil prices as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, but is prohibited from selling the crude on international markets due to US sanctions.
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Both ENI and Repsol have operated joint ventures in Venezuela for decades, and although crude extraction never stopped, the companies were unable to sell the oil.
Is Venezuela benefiting from the rise in oil prices?
1:15
One of the sources said that under the special authorization granted, the oil exports will be exchanged for a reduction of the debt that PDVSA has with its European counterparts, which means that there will be no transfer of funds to the coffers of PDVSA or Venezuela. .
Shipments will resume in a few weeks, one of the sources said.
The US State Department declined to comment.
EuropePDVSAPetroleum