3 key takeaways from Trump's push to put US oil firms back in Venezuela

By Fox News · Fox News

Following the dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the United States is now positioned to exert significant influence over the future of the world’s largest oil reserves. What President Donald Trump does next could reshape Venezuela’s energy industry, alter global oil flows and redefine the balance of influence among major powers long invested in the country’s crude. Here are three key takeaways: Venezuela, a country almost twice the size of California, sits atop extraordinary wealth. With more than 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, Venezuela holds more crude than established energy heavyweights like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait. The Latin American country’s reserves are nearly quadruple those of the United States. Once a major oil producer, the country pumped about 3.5 million barrels a day in the late 1990s. Since then, its oil industry has sharply deteriorated, with production falling to roughly 800,000 barrels a day, according to energy analytics firm Kpler. A key reason: much of Venezuela’s oil is difficult and expensive to extract. The country’s reserves are dominated by heavy and extra-heavy crude, which is costly to extract and relies on specialized equipment and refining capacity that have deteriorated after years of underinvestment, U.S. sanctions and political instability. ‘WE BUILT VENEZUELA’S OIL INDUSTRY:’ TRUMP VOWS US ENERGY RETURN AFTER MADURO CAPTURE Similar dynamics have unfolded in countries such as Iran and Libya, where turmoil, financial distress and crumbling infrastructure have kept vast reserves locked underground. As a result, scaling operations back up would require significant time, capital and technical expertise, with any production increase likely to be gradual rather than immediate. Decades of political instability, shifting regulations and U.S. sanctions have made Venezuela a high-risk environment for long-term investment. That risk dates back to the mid-2000s, when then-President Hugo Chávez reshaped…