The first shipment of Venezuelan crude oil under a US agreement with private oil company North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) arrived in Texas, with the 1 million-barrel cargo set to be sold to refineries operated by ExxonMobil and Citgo Petroleum, Reuters reported.

The US government described the shipment as provided at no cost to American taxpayers. However, this does not necessarily mean the crude itself was free: The Washington Post reported that the agreement involved a discounted purchase price of $30 per barrel.

The delivery marks the first shipment under an agreement between Washington and NABEP, a private energy company operating in Venezuela. The deal is intended to expand US access to Venezuelan crude and support the development of the country’s oil sector.

Under the agreement, the US secured access to a portion of NABEP’s crude production, while the company gained expanded rights to develop Venezuelan oil fields. The arrangement follows Washington’s increased involvement in Venezuela’s petroleum industry and efforts to direct additional crude supplies to US refineries.

The cargo’s arrival also provides additional feedstock for US refining operations, including those operated by ExxonMobil and Citgo. The commercial terms and the scale of future shipments will determine the agreement’s longer-term implications for crude supply and refinery operations.

NABEP has said it expects further shipments under the arrangement, although the pace of deliveries will depend on the agreement’s implementation and the company’s ability to expand production.

In September, Venezuela’s National Assembly had backed an oil deal with the administration of US President Donald Trump, ahead of a planned visit to Caracas by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The agreement was said to give the US access to around one-fifth of Venezuela’s oil reserves through an arrangement under which NABEP would receive a 100-year lease for 17 oil fields in Venezuela holding some 65 billion barrels of oil reserves.