Trump Boasts Of Confiscated Venezuelan Oil But Neglects To Mention How Nasty It Is
HuffPost
The country’s crude oil is heavy, too thick to flow through a pipeline without dilution, and is filled with corrosive chemicals that can destroy refineries.
WASHINGTON – As President Donald Trump and top aide Stephen Miller brag how their might-makes-right imperialism has permitted them to confiscate Venezuela’s oil, they have neglected to mention a key detail that calls into question the fossil fuel’s value: its nastiness.
Oil from Venezuela, which Trump keeps claiming is now under his control, is a heavy sludge-like product filled with hydrogen sulfide and a slew of toxic metals that can destroy a refinery if not first removed, industry experts said. It must be diluted with imported petroleum products before it is even fluid enough to move, and its corrosiveness is the reason that much of the country’s oil drilling equipment is in such a state of disrepair.
“That’s why the infrastructure has rotted away,” said Matt Randolph, an oil industry executive with decades of experience. “It’s extremely corrosive and all of the equipment needs constant maintenance and chemical treatment to keep it from degrading.”
The higher expense involved in processing Venezuelan oil, combined with current low oil prices globally and an uncertain oil demand in the future, means that the U.S. installation of a more cooperative ruler in that country may end up having no effect on what Americans pay for gasoline and heating oil.
An oil industry analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said production could – with relatively little cost – ramp up from the current 1 million barrels a day being extracted in Venezuela by about 200,000 more barrels. Beyond that, though, will require massive new investments that might never pay off if oil prices remain low.
The country’s crude oil is heavy, too thick to flow through a pipeline without dilution, and is filled with corrosive chemicals that can destroy refineries.
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