China bought ‘legitimate’ Venezuelan oil from US after Maduro seizure, energy secretary says

China has bought some Venezuelan oil that was bought earlier by the US, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright.“China has already bought some of the crude that’s been sold by the US government,” Wright told the media in Caracas, without giving details. “Legitimate Chinese business deals under legitimate business conditions” would be fine, he said, when asked about possible joint ventures in the country.China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said he wasn’t familiar with Wright’s comments when asked at a regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday.The global oil market was jolted in January as US forces swooped into Venezuela and seized former president Nicolas Maduro, with Washington asserting control over the Opec member’s crude industry. Since then, traders have looked for signals about how export patterns may change, and how output may be revived after years of neglect, sanctions, and underinvestment.US Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks to media in Caracas on Wednesday during the highest-level US energy visit to Venezuela in nearly 30 years. Photo: ReutersThe South American country’s so-called “oil quarantine” was essentially over, Wright said on Thursday. Ahead of the intervention, the US blockaded the country’s oil flows with a vast naval force, and seized several vessels.