- The US may ban Russian energy imports in response to its military assault of Ukraine.
- Washington reportedly met with Venezuela's government to discuss easing existing sanctions.
- But the country's oil industry produces a fraction of what it did in its 1990s boom.
The US is reportedly mulling relaxing sanctions against Venezuela in a bid to secure a new source of oil following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The US and Venezuela held their first high-level bilateral talks in years on March 5 in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, according to media reports.
Washington is vying for reforms of Venezuela's oil industry to make it fit for exports by foreign firms, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The supply crunch as a result of sanctions against Russia has seen crude oil prices surge, jumping nearly 20% on Monday to almost $140 a barrel for the first time in nearly 14 years.
Russia is the world's third-largest oil producer, supplying about 10% of global supply.
The Caracas talks involved discussions about a temporary easing of sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the Trump administration in 2019, per the Wall Street Journal.
In attendance were the White House's top Latin America adviser, Juan Gonzalez, and US Ambassador to Venezuela James Story, who met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, Reuters reported.
The US State Department and Venezuela's government did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Reuters reported that Venezuela pushed for a total lift on sanctions on its oil exports, sanctions on Maduro and other government officials, as well as a return to government control of Citgo Petroleum, a U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA.
In turn, Washington sought a guarantee of free presidential elections and a reversal on Maduro's defense of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the agency also reported.
But there are other challenges. Venezuela's industry is a far cry from its oil-producing boom in the 1990s when it produced 3.2 million barrels a day, now down to around 800,000, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Mismanagement has plagued the industry and the country's economic crisis there has also seen the flight of highly-trained engineers and other workers, the outlet added.