Venezuela to inject $300 million in oil dollars via banks to ease forex crunch

CARACAS, Jan 15 — The Venezuelan government will channel $300 million in oil revenues through four local banks to sell dollars to companies for imports, aiming to ease a severe foreign exchange shortage, according to financial sources and an analyst.

The funds, from oil income deposited in an account in Qatar, will be split among the banks, with each receiving approximately $75 million in the coming days.

Economist Alejandro Grisanti confirmed the plan, stating, "$300 million will be sold to four large private banks" from funds already deposited.

The dollars will be sold to Venezuelan firms under central bank guidelines, bypassing the sanctioned central bank directly.

This move follows weeks of tightening dollar supplies after US seizures of Venezuelan oil tankers.

The US completed the first $500 million in sales of Venezuelan oil this week as part of a larger $2 billion agreement.

Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez said part of the oil revenue will fund social projects and infrastructure.

She also submitted a proposed reform of the hydrocarbons law to boost oil investment.

Venezuelan companies have long relied on converting bolivars to dollars generated by oil sales and foreign credit card transactions.

The bolivar weakened 83% in 2025, accelerating local price increases.

Authorities previously allowed the use of dollar-linked cryptocurrencies like USDT on the exchange market.

One source noted that crypto flows to the private sector had recently fallen and added that increased dollar inflows from crude sales would likely further reduce crypto allocations.

Neither the finance ministry nor the central bank responded to requests for comment.