Venezuela’s vast reserves of heavy, high-sulfur crude have the potential to disrupt the U.S. energy sector. Despite having the world’s largest proven oil reserves, the country’s production has long been constrained by sanctions and weak infrastructure.
However, Venezuela’s oil sector has once again come under discussion due to the political and strategic interests of the United States.
Experts say that although investing in extracting heavy oil from Venezuela is risky, it is very profitable for US refineries. Because a large part of the US coastal refineries are built to process heavy oil. Currently, even though heavy oil is imported from Canada, Venezuelan oil is relatively cheap.
The analysis suggests that increasing oil supplies from Venezuela would strengthen US energy security and could significantly increase refinery profits. In this context, Venezuelan heavy oil could become a ‘game changer’ for the US energy sector.