Why is it said that the US abducted Maduro, and the ultimate winner is still Chinese oil companies? Just look at one piece of news to see!
On January 3, 2026, at midnight, US special forces forcibly removed President Maduro and his wife from the country. This operation shocked the world. On the surface, it seems that the US has regained control over this country with the world's largest oil reserves—Venezuela has proven oil reserves of 30.38 billion barrels, far exceeding those of Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The White House then announced that US oil companies would take the lead in repairing the aging oil fields and fully take over the energy infrastructure.
Is it really like that? Dao Ge insists: You see, the ones who may ultimately benefit steadily might not be US oil companies, but Chinese oil companies.
If you don't believe it, just look at an old news story—on January 1, 2024, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) officially took over the lead contractor role from ExxonMobil in the West Qurna Phase 1 oil field in southern Iraq, becoming the largest operator and shareholder of this giant oil field.
West Qurna Phase 1 is one of the largest oil fields in Iraq and one of the most important heavy crude oil production areas globally, with a daily production capacity of more than 400,000 barrels. When the US invaded Iraq, the official reason was counter-terrorism and destroying weapons of mass destruction, but in reality, it deeply intervened in its energy system. ExxonMobil won the project leadership in 2009, seen as a strategic foothold for the US to return to the core of the Middle East energy. However, within less than 15 years, this company, which once represented US energy hegemony, voluntarily withdrew and handed the project over to the Chinese side.
Why? The reason is very realistic: Although the West Qurna oil field has a large output, it belongs to heavy crude oil with high sulfur content, which has high development and transportation costs, long investment recovery cycles, and the security situation in Iraq has always been worrying. In contrast, US shale oil is fast and efficient, with quick returns, so capital naturally flows back to the domestic market.
Chinese oil companies have a completely different logic. They are backed by national strategies, pursuing long-term and stable resource security and RMB settlement channels, rather than short-term profit maximization. More importantly, China has a complete refining and processing system that can efficiently handle heavy crude oil—precisely the main type of Venezuela's oil.
Several American oil companies, including Chevron, have repeatedly stated they are unwilling to return to Venezuela—reasons are the same: "the risk is too high, the infrastructure is too poor, and the investment return is too low." This is why it is said that: even if the US abducts Maduro, the ultimate winner is still Chinese oil companies. A油田交接 news from early 2024 has already laid the answer.
The US captured the President of Venezuela
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1853625367560202/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.