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US Refiners Eyeing Venezuela's Crude Reserves
4 Jan
Summary
- US refineries, designed for heavy crude, struggle with abundant light shale oil.
- Venezuela's heavy crude reserves are the world's largest.
- Accessing Venezuelan oil could significantly boost refiner profitability.
U.S. oil refiners are anticipating significant benefits from the potential liberalization of Venezuela's crude oil exports. Refineries located along the U.S. Gulf and West coasts were originally built to process heavy, sour crude, similar to that produced by Venezuela and Mexico. These facilities are not optimally equipped for the light, sweet crude now abundant from U.S. shale production.
This processing challenge has impacted the profitability of many U.S. refiners, even amid record domestic oil output and depressed crude prices, which stood at $57.32 a barrel as of the past Friday, having dropped 20% in 2025. The U.S. imports approximately 6 million barrels of crude daily while exporting over 4 million barrels.
Experts suggest that Venezuela's heavy crude, the largest reserves globally, could be transformative for U.S. Gulf Coast and West Coast refiners. This would improve their profitability and operational capabilities, with India and China also being key markets for this specific crude type.
