What is the petrodollar, as seen from Venezuela's rapidly recovering oil production?

Moreover, according to data from tanker monitoring firms, Venezuela’s oil exports in June 2026 declined slightly to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), down from 1.25 million bpd in May, due to minor delays at PDVSA’s terminals caused by two fatal earthquakes in June. Of this total, crude shipments to the United States rose to 630,000 bpd, while exports to India fell to 277,000 bpd. In the same month, Chevron’s exports of Venezuelan crude increased to approximately 293,000 bpd, while commodity traders—including Vitol and Trafigura—exported around 775,000 bpd. Global refiners are bypassing traders to purchase Venezuelan crude directly. As production and exports rebound rapidly, Venezuela’s oil export policy is also undergoing transformation: by selling directly to end-user refineries, PDVSA can capture greater profits. Industry expert Alex Kimani detailed this shift in an article published on July 22, 2026, on the website OilPrice. Kimani noted that companies including Phillips 66, Reliance, Chevron, Repsol, and Eni are signing direct crude supply agreements with PDVSA—reducing the role of traders such as Vitol and Trafigura. By selling directly to refineries and joint-venture partners, Venezuela secures higher effective prices while reshaping global crude trade flows and the refining economics along the U.S. Gulf Coast. According to Reuters, commodity traders are facing unprecedented heavy losses, as refineries begin circumventing oil intermediaries to procure Venezuelan crude directly. Refineries and major oil producers are rapidly signing direct supply contracts with PDVSA—extricating themselves from global oil trading intermediaries, particularly dominant players like Trafigura and Vitol—and swiftly capturing market share in Venezuelan crude. Six months after the re-opening of Venezuela’s oil market, Phillips 66 and India’s Reliance Industries have already signed direct supply agreements; Valero and Thailand’s Tipco—the country’s largest asphalt producer—are expected to follow suit shortly. Previously, Vitol and Trafigura dominated Venezuelan crude marketing thanks to their exclusive U.S. government licenses, mature logistics infrastructure, and longstanding ties with PDVSA. A major political shift occurred in Venezuela in January 2026, when the U.S. government brokered a deal to assume control over and sell off the country’s oil resources. The U.S. Department of the Treasury granted Vitol and Trafigura special long-term licenses, valid until June 2027, conferring temporary monopoly rights upon these two firms. Within just six months, they jointly shipped over 100 million barrels of crude—while all other global enterprises were legally barred from participating in such trade. Unparalleled logistics capabilities further cemented Vitol’s and Trafigura’s distinct advantages. After all, global trading houses possess ample tanker fleet capacity and extensive geographic coverage, enabling them to deploy tankers swiftly and reroute large volumes of crude oil efficiently. During periods of market stress, they can utilize floating storage facilities—such as those in Malaysia—to stage bulk cargo deliveries, thereby absorbing massive storage and transportation costs.

Warren Buffett’s 2016 Shareholder Letter (Fully Translated into Chinese)

* Excludes capital gains or losses. Investment Portfolio Below is a list of our fifteen largest common-stock investments by market value as of year-end. We exclude our Kraft Heinz shares because Berkshire is a controlling shareholder of Kraft Heinz and therefore must account for this investment using the equity method. Berkshire holds 325,442,152 shares of Kraft Heinz. On our balance sheet, this investment is carried at $15.3 billion under U.S. GAAP; its market value at year-end was $28.4 billion; and our cost basis was $9.8 billion. Berkshire Hathaway’s Common Stock Holdings (as of December 31, 2016) Unit: millions of U.S. dollars Shares Held * Company Name Ownership % Cost ** Market Value 151,610,700 American Express Company 16.80% 1,287 11,231 61,242,652 Apple Inc. 1.10% 6,747 7,093 6,789,054 Charter Communications, Inc. 2.50% 1,210 1,955 400,000,000 The Coca-Cola Company 9.30% 1,299 16,584 54,934,718 Delta Air Lines, Inc. 7.50% 2,299 2,702 11,390,582 The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 2.90% 654 2,727 81,232,303 International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) 8.50% 13,815 13,484 24,669,778 Moody’s Corporation 12.90% 248 2,326 74,587,892 Phillips 66 14.40% 5,841 6,445 22,169,930 Sanofi 1.70% 1,692 1,791 43,203,775 Southwest Airlines Co. 7.00% 1,757 2,153 101,859,335 U.S. Bancorp 6.00% 3,239 5,233 26,620,184 United Continental Holdings, Inc. 8.40% 1,477 1,940 43,387,980 USG Corporation 29.70% 836 1,253 500,000,000 Wells Fargo & Company 10.00% 12,730 27,555 – Other Stocks – 10,697 17,560 Total Total Market Value of Common Stocks Reported – 65,828 122,032 * Excludes shares held by pension plans of Berkshire subsidiaries. ** This figure represents actual purchase cost and also serves as tax basis; for a few holdings, GAAP “book cost” differs from this amount due to prior impairment charges required under GAAP. Some of the stocks listed above are managed independently by Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, who jointly oversee Berkshire’s investment activities alongside me. Each manages portfolios exceeding $10 billion; I typically learn of their investment decisions only through monthly transaction reports.

Phillips 66 approves $10 billion increase to share repurchase program

Jul 31, 2026

Phillips 66's board approved a $10 billion increase to its share repurchase program, supported by stronger fuel margins following tightened global supplies due to the Iran conflict.

reuters

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Phillips 66 Acquires UK Lindsey Refinery Assets

2026-04-29

Phillips 66 posts surprise profit on higher refining margins

2026-07-31

Phillips 66 approves $10 billion increase to share repurchase program

2026-08-05

Phillips 66 beats quarterly estimates as Iran war boosts US refining margins

2026-08-05

Phillips 66 Expects Soaring Fuel Margins to Last Into 2027

Phillips 66 approves $10 billion increase to share repurchase program

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