[Free the USA]

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[Cincinatus' Wife]

**** Describing the conflict as "very worrisome," John H. Lichtblau, chairman of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation in New York, said: "Venezuela has been a top foreign source for the United States for a long time. Potentially, this is a bigger threat for the U.S. market than disruptions in the Middle East, which are hypothetical. This isn't hypothetical."****

[Soren]

I believe Venezuela accounts for about 14% of US imports and that imports are about 43% of total US demand, making Venezuela imports about 6% of US total demand (based on some numbers I saw on the doe website). By way of comparison, seasonal fluctuations in demand are in the range of 4-5%, so you would expect a greater price impact than typical seasonal variations if imports were interrupted for an extended period. US crude imports by country:

Saudi Arabia	17%
Mexico	15%
Canada	15%
Venezuela	14%
Iraq	11%
Nigeria	6%
Others	22%
TOTAL	100%

These numbers are based on my own quick calculations from DOE data, so you may want to verify for yourself.