Apart from the Communism part...I’ve read that Venezuela’s oil reserves are of some kind of inferior quality that’s not in high demand. IIRC is was something about high sulfur content.
I think high sulfur oil is called “sour crude”. Yup, it has a low value and will only be pumped when there is a shortage. We live on a formation full of it. Had the Bakken not been discovered, we’d be rich, filthy stinken rich.
“Venezuela’s oil reserves are of some kind of inferior quality that’s not in high demand”
it is ironic that the left has pushed to bring down demand and emissions requirements to the point where the market can be picky about the quality of the oil to refine thereby crippling their precious socialist country’s economy.
It is more the producers not properly preparing the oil for refineries than the quality of the oil in the ground.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Quality-Issues-Could-Break-Venezuela.html
You are correct. Their oil is difficult to crack. We are pretty much the only country who can efficiently crack their crude.
the stuff is crap, and one of the biggest refineries for their sludge was on St.Croix USVI ~10 years ago the EPA came in and told HOVENSA (the refiner) that they needed to make almost a billion dollars in plant upgrades, HESS told them to go pound sand and closed the plant
that put three thousand workers on STX out of a job and drove a stake through the heart of Venz gas income
Venz crude is “heavy sour.”
So is the oil we’ve been using from Western Canada.
Lots of asphalt included...