Estimates suggest that Venezuela has about 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. This is the largest in the world. However, while the economy of the country benefited from this critical resource in the past, it now struggles to maximize its production output and the earnings from extracting and exporting its vast oil resource.
Venezuelan Oil is Crucial to the U.S. National Security Strategy
The United States, under the second administration of Donald Trump, wants to consolidate the Western Hemisphere into an impregnable energy fortress. This move systematically evicts adversarial influence from Russia and China while providing the U.S. with the winning hand to act as a global swing producer.
Refined Infrastructure Compatibility
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. However, despite this abundance, most of this oil, more than 80 percent, is considered heavy crude oil. Light crude, such as those extracted in countries like Saudi Arabia, is like water. Venezuelan oil, particularly those extracted in the Orinoco Belt, is thick, sticky, and often solidifies at room temperature.
Heavy crude does not readily flow from the ground. Extraction involves injecting high-pressure steam into the ground to melt the oil enough so it can be pumped out of the ground. It is also too viscous to move through a pipeline, thus requiring it to be mixed with diluents to thin it out so it can flow to the coast for transportation and eventual exportation.
Another main challenge with heavy crude is the refining process. Because it contains high levels of sulfur, vanadium, and nickel, it requires specialized oil refineries. Most refineries in the world are built for light-sweet crude. But this central processing challenge makes Venezuelan oil an attractive and strategically beneficial resource for the United States.
U.S. refineries, particularly those in Texas and Louisiana, are specifically designed and tuned to process heavy crude oil. Processing heavy crude from Venezuela is more cost-effective for these refineries than light-sweet crude from U.S. shale. This means that Venezuelan oil is compatible with the infrastructure of the U.S. downstream oil and gas industry.
Single Oil Energy Block in the Americas
Global oil prices have been subject to geopolitical premiums or extra costs added because of fears that a dictator or a war might cut off supply. However, by having control over or access to the largest oil reserves in the world, the U.S. removes this fear. Markets will no longer worry about hostile Venezuelan leadership or foreign influence controlling the oil supply.
Moreover, if the entire Western Hemisphere operates as a single energy bloc, they become entirely self-sufficient, making Middle Eastern or Russian oil supply disruptions irrelevant to the economies in both North America and South America. Note that the Trump administration has noted that it has deprioritized the Middle East in its foreign affairs priorities.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump envisions a consolidation of energy resources from Alaska to Patagonia. Integrating the production of oil-producing countries in the Americas translates to consolidating control of nearly 40 percent of the global oil output. This also excludes countries like China and Russia from Western Hemisphere infrastructure.
Geopolitical Leverage and Energy Security
Having control over or access to the largest oil reserve in the world provides the United States with a massive buffer against global supply shocks and leverage against price controls. For example, by integrating Venezuelan oil back into the Western sphere, the U.S. can significantly reduce the influence of Russia, China, and Iran in the Western Hemisphere.
The second Trump administration, under the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, has stated its intention to consider the Americas as the top security priority. This has been detailed in the National Security Strategy that was published in November 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump is revitalizing U.S. influence across the North and South Americas.
Note that Russia has used its vast oil resources as a geopolitical leverage against European countries during its ongoing war with Ukraine. Both Russia and Iran have also depended on oil exportation to fund their national budgets and military operations, as well as to create alliances or enter into advantageous deals with other states and even non-state actors.
A de facto influence over Venezuelan output also gives the U.S. the winning hand to keep global prices low. This prevents rival nations from using supply cuts as a weapon. Managing Venezuelan exports also allows the U.S. government to dictate terms in the global energy market. This helps in reinforcing the U.S. dollar as the primary currency for energy trade.
Main Challenges in Extracting and Controlling Venezuelan Oil
Remember that the United States, based on the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, wants to establish an oil empire stretching from Alaska to Patagonia. This seeks to ensure the Americas or the entire Western Hemisphere is energy-independent from the Eastern Hemisphere and that their domestic affairs are free from the influence of other oil producers.
Venezuela is strategic to the aforesaid aspiration. However, having the largest proven reserves does not mean the largest oil production. The country used to produce 3 million barrels of oil per day, but this has gone down to less than a million barrels per day beginning in 2002-2003 and further in 2007 after Hugo Chávez nationalized the Venezuelan oil industry.
The current oil industry of Venezuela is in disarray. The infrastructure is crumbling due to years of neglect. Its rehabilitation is considered one of the most expensive and technically complex energy projects in modern history. The cost alone is estimated between USD 100 billion and USD 200 billion to cover both short-term and long-term solutions.
U.S. President Trump said that U.S. oil companies are willing to fund redevelopment pursuits via a debt-for-oil arrangement. But the current price of oil in the market, which is below USD 60 per barrel, indicates that the financial investment does not make sense for profit-focused entities since it will take at least a decade to complete the rehabilitation alone.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Funk, J. 4 January 2026. “Experts Say Trump’s Plan to Seize and Revitalize Venezuela’s Oil Industry Faces Major Hurdles.” PBS. Available online
- Hamilton, R. 2017. The Monroe Doctrine: The Bird of American Foreign Policy. Rosen Publishing. ISBN: 9781508149590
- Roy, D. and Cheatham, A. 2024. “Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of a Petrostate.” Council on Foreign Relations. Available online
- The White House. November 2025. National Security Strategy of the United States of America. President of the United States. Available via PDF
- S. Energy Information Administration. 2026. “Analysis.” Venezuela. U.S. Energy Information Administration. Available online