The Economist: "Why Trump's Venezuela oil gamble won't pay off"

[Pluvious]

There are three main points that make the notion of exporting Venezuelan oil to the United States quite senseless

The first point is that currently the United States is a net exporter of oil because we have somewhat of a glut

The second point is that the quality of the oil from Venezuela is very inferior, and expensive to properly refine, and is quite dirty to the environment

The third point is that we continue to increase more of our energy generation from green sources, and it seems to me that the demand for oil will continue to decline into the future

As explained in this video, it would take about $80 a barrel for Venezuelan oil to be profitable after a sustained period of over 10 years. Currently the value of oil from Venezuela is approximately around $45 a barrel, assuming there were no logistic issues with it being transported

From the description:

234,608 views Jan 9, 2026 Economist Podcasts
Has Trump just pulled off the most brazen oil heist in history? Vijay Vaitheeswaran, The Economist’s Global Energy and Climate Innovation Editor talks to Ethan Wu and Mike Bird, co-hosts of The Money Talks podcast, about why America might never benefit from Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

00:00 – Why Venezuela’s vast oil reserves are so difficult to use
02:29 – Heavy vs light crude: why Venezuelan oil is different
04:38 – Why big oil won’t invest in Venezuela again
06:23 – What oil prices would make Venezuela viable
08:41 – Why this oil strategy feels outdated today

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/4sxjAVK
How the Pentagon snatched Nicolás Maduro: https://econ.st/4hv0wlY
Sign up to our weekly newsletter: https://econ.st/3J0xzBr

[erronis]

1. Apparently, making sense economically isn't the point.

It is the bully trying to show who''s the boss. One big bloody nose should help.

Final quote from this excellent video: "Big Oil will come to regret its support for Trump 2.0."

[Justice matters.]

2. yep, the boss of what, six bankrupted casinos?

but, but, but, he's a successful businessman... - magats & MSM.

[lonely bird]

3. This may have been posted before

https://cleantechnica.com/2026/01/06/why-venezuelas-oil-wont-matter-and-why-heavy-crude-is-first-off-the-market/#:~:text=Venezuela%20is%20often%20described%20as,imports%2C%20and%20more%20complex%20processing.

[erronis]

4. Thank you - very informative piece.