Reference News Network, January 5 report - According to a January 4 report by the CNN website, US President Trump wants to revive the oil industry in Venezuela, but it is not easy.
The report said that Trump said he is counting on US companies to rebuild Venezuela's severely damaged oil industry.
However, energy industry observers say that despite the world's largest proven oil reserves being tempting, the risks may outweigh the rewards for US oil giants.
To extract more oil in Venezuela, it is necessary to rebuild the country's damaged oil infrastructure. According to Trump's own statement, this will cost billions of dollars, and the crude oil price has not reached a level that makes such investment easy. In addition, refining Venezuela's unique type of crude oil itself is a costly engineering project.
It is difficult to develop oil in a politically stable country, let alone in a country that has fallen into political crisis after its president was forcibly controlled.
According to the report, Clayton Segal, senior researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Energy Security and Climate Change Program, said: "This whole matter leaves more questions than answers about Venezuela's future political situation, and the country's political situation will be the first issue that businesses and industry planners need to consider when evaluating business opportunities."
Foreign oil companies have been operating in Venezuela for over a century. Venezuela's geographical proximity to the United States makes it a key strategic partner for US interests. However, over the past 25 years, the country's oil production has declined by more than one-third.
Chevron is the only remaining American oil company in Venezuela. Over the past 10 years, due to US sanctions and a series of exemptions, the company has intermittently operated in the country. About a quarter of the oil produced by Chevron in Venezuela is exported to the United States.
Michael C. Krieger, a senior guest researcher at the Arms Control Association, said that Chevron's footprint would make it difficult for new participants or returning participants to compete with it. "Any company entering (Venezuela) needs several years to replicate this capability."
He said: "You can't just go into Venezuela to drill for oil. It is an extremely difficult and complex process, and Chevron has done exceptionally well in this area over the years, but few companies currently have this technology." (Translated by Feng Xue)
Original: toutiao.com/article/7591864243880772122/
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