U.S. Refiners Rush To Buy Heavy Oil As Trump Looks To Punish Maduro

Oilprice.com ^ | 01-18-2019 | Irina

[bananaman22]

Refiners in the United States are stocking up on heavy crude, pushing prices higher, as the Trump administration prepares to slam more punitive measures on Caracas after the inauguration of Nicolas Maduro as president of Venezuela for a second term after elections considered illegitimate by Washington.

Reuters reports that officials from the presidential administration met with oil industry executives to discuss the measures on the table, including the suspension ofrefined product exports to Venezuela or Venezuelan crude oil imports into the United States.

Gulf Coast refiners have a limited choice of supplier when it comes to heavy crude. Besides local grades such as Mars, they import the heavy crude they need to produce more than just gasoline from Canada, Venezuela, and Mexico.

[ConservativeMind]

Some refineries have spent a lot of money to process only that type.

[Repeat Offender]

They voted for it - overwhelmingly.

Chavez's socialism was supposed to be great and prosperous. It was a "humane" socialism and an example for the yanquis.

You want to help these people? Let them see the true rock bottom end result of socialism so they see their folly. That's a lesson that will carry generations.

[grania]

I do not agree with making it worse for the people who live there. One reason is practical. Do you seriously want even more people from Venezuela leaving, adding to the invader pressure not just on Curacao and Aruba, but everywhere else that’s still livable in the hemisphere?

[Repeat Offender]

I do not agree with making it worse for the people who live there. One reason is practical. Do you seriously want even more people from Venezuela leaving, adding to the invader pressure not just on Curacao and Aruba, but everywhere else that’s still livable in the hemisphere?

Sounds like - Continue to fund and support our illegitimate government (the money isn't filtering down below the elite - they're looting it) that nationalized foreign businesses, and severely oppresses its people, but we originally voted for.....

or we'll invade your country?

You sold me - that seems completely reasonable.

[grania]

I don't think we're funding Venezuela's government which does not support US foreign policy. But if they have something to sell, we shouldn't stop it with sanctions. Let the gov fall on its own. It's the worst possible form of globalism if we don't allow mutually beneficial trade if their goverment doesn't support US policy.

Curacao was an interesting example. They closed that floating market for about six months. Turns out, the people of Curacao suffered, too. That was their best source for inexpensive and fresh fish and produce. So now it's open, and everyone is better off for it and as a practical matter Venezuelans aren't isolated from the outside world.