"Nothing Burger" - World's Biggest Reserves, But Most Of Venezuela's Oil Is The World's Dirtiest & Hardest To Refine

[sop]

7. 'Dense, sticky and heavy: why Venezuelan crude oil appeals to US refineries'

(The Guardian) "Clustered along the US Gulf coast are some of the largest and most complex heavy-oil refineries in the world. These sprawling industrial hubs, owned by major US oil companies, stand ready to emerge as some of the major victors of Donald Trump’s swoop on Venezuela."

"In some ways, these refineries are a relic of another time; built to process the heavy, unctuous crude imported from Latin America before the boom in lighter US shale oil emerged earlier this century."

"Venezuelan oil is particularly dense and sticky. The high-sulphur crude more closely resembles a semi-solid tar than the far clearer liquids produced in US shale heartlands, making it more difficult to extract and process into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and feedstock for the chemicals industry. But it is exactly what many refineries in the US were built to treat."

"As a result, the US remains a major importer of crude to feed its refineries, despite being one of the biggest oil exporters in the world. Access to Venezuelan crude at an attractive price could play an important role in sating Trump’s appetite for cheap energy to fuel the 'reindustrialisation' of the US economy."

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/05/venezuelan-crude-oil-appeals-to-us-refineries

And:

(MarketWatch) 'Why U.S. oil refiners could be the big winners in Venezuela - even if its actual reserves disappoint'

"Refiners in the U.S. have the distinctive ability to handle the type of heavy crude that Venezuela claims to have in abundance"

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-u-s-oil-refiners-could-be-the-big-winners-in-venezuela-even-if-its-actual-reserves-disappoint-6a9a6b1a