[thackney]

The oil pumped out of Venezuela, is for all intents and purposes, sludge, and requires a particularly capability to refine it. That capability resides in the US.

Venezuela produces about 2.8 million barrels of oil per day. We import about 1.1 million barrels of that. They use about 0.6 million and the rest is imported to other countries that are already refining Venezuelan oil.

Top World Oil Producers, Exporters and Consumers
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/topworldtables1_2.htm

U.S. Crude Oil Imports by Country of Origin
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_epc0_im0_mbblpd_a.htm

[the invisib1e hand]

thanks for posting the stats. It's been a while since I look at them.

I knew russia was number two in production, but for some reason I didn't know that the US was number three, right behind them.