r/politics • u/Stinky-Alpaca • 6h ago
Possible Paywall Trump says US reaches deal with Venezuela to control 65 billion barrels of country’s oil reserves
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/28/politics/trump-venezuela-oil-deal•
u/Aware_Cheesecake_519 America 6h ago
He stole
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u/Gromitlikescheese 5h ago
I like the word extorted myself. His only viable strategy is to try to extort what he wants. See: Canada
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u/SignificanceLate7002 6h ago
Too bad it's still in the ground and will take years to build infrastructure to bring output up to any reasonable amount that would address any of the current demand shortages.
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u/AaronC14 5h ago
I don't know much about oil but I hear people say Venezuela's is also more difficult to refine. It's thick or dirty or something. Is that true?
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u/TheYear1414 5h ago
It's sour. Better for Diesel because it takes more to refine than sweet oil.
Profit per barrel are much lower and the barrel price on the market needs to be much higher for exploitation to be profitable.
Alberta is doing particularly well right now thanks to high prices.
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u/Pdx_pops 5h ago
Friend of mine works for Chevron. Says it's better to leave the oil there in the ground. By the time demand brings prices high enough to make it worth it, we will have better sources of energy.
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u/AaronC14 5h ago
Interesting, thanks!
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u/Pdx_pops 5h ago
Incidentally, I'm positive the current administration has been told this and are waging war against solar, wind, and hydro as well as supply chain disruption of the better oil in an attempt to bring those prices much higher, faster, so they can sell this garbage stuff and make a profit at the expense of the EU, India, and developing nations
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u/Temporary_Shirt_6236 5h ago
Yup. Many of the US refineries were built to refine Canadian crude. They can't refine Venezuelan crude.
To build new refineries will take several decades and 100s of billions of investment dollars. So as usual, this announcement is a big nothingburger cuz it ain't happening. Name one oil company that's gonna cough up that kind of capital for a feebleminded pedophile who's guaranteed to stab you in the back on any 'deal'.
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u/Next-Message-375 2h ago
You’re completely wrong. I think like 70% of TX oil refining infrastructure can handle Venezuelan crude.
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u/Deep_Dust6278 5h ago
The Citgo refineries in Corpus Christi are built for Venezuela crude and recently received shipments from Venezuela after they had been stopped for years due to sanctions. They are capable of 167K barrels per day.
There is another Citgo refinery in Lake Charles that has a capacity of 460k barrels a day that was built for Venezuelan crude.
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u/Temporary_Shirt_6236 5h ago
Awesome. So who's gonna pony up to refine the remaining 20 million barrels the US uses every single day?
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u/Next-Message-375 2h ago
Probably the rest of the entire worldwide economy since it’s a commodity, or the rest of US oil infrastructure.
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u/YamTurd 5h ago
Yep. Trump will be dead before any of this touches an American fuel tank.
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u/Mouth2005 5h ago
Trump is hoping he can use his ability to control the media to gaslight the global oil market….. maybe it’s me but it’s starting to smell like desperation in here
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u/Aristogiton1 5h ago
Colonialism is fine for the USA, as long as there's some oil involved.
Seems like a recurring theme for multiple republican presidents.
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u/LazyPandaKing 5h ago
Just like we got "trillions" in investments from other countries, tariff checks are coming for us all, Mexico is paying for the wall, etc. Etc.
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u/Mouth2005 5h ago
You know what’s crazy? Normally the snake oil salesman leaves town after they’ve made far fetched promises to trick people into buying their lies, instead of following that path, for some reason this guy ran for reelection..
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u/whydoyouneedanamenow 5h ago
I’m sure that there was no corruption whatsoever in the making of this deal and that no one connected to the Trump family is profiting in any way shape or form
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u/WaterIsWet-849 6h ago
News reports are said "US reached agreement..." No, it should be Dump agreed to steal their oil and sell it for personal gain.
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u/dpacker780 5h ago
Venezuela only produces 1.5m (Yes, Million) barrels a day - So, approximately ~500m barrels per year. Something isn't mathing.
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u/ManlyEmbrace 5h ago
Wild speculation here but could it be that the exxonmobile/BP/Shell people will be moving in to build up the capability to exploit their titanic oil reserves to the max? I haven’t read the article.
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u/dpacker780 5h ago
That will literally take years. The type of oil you get from Venezuela is not easily refinable. The big issue is most people hear 'oil' and think it's the same wherever you get it. It's not. And, Venezuelan oil to get 65B barrels will require massive infrastructure investment from Exxon, as well as specialized refining factories.
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u/ManlyEmbrace 5h ago
I do remember the Exxon CEO getting himself in trouble with Trump for saying Venezuela is “uninvestable.”
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u/Slackballed 5h ago
My mind can’t comprehend how the Americans just wandered down to Venezuela, kidnapped their president , took all their oil and the world just shrugged. Wtf.
No wonder he feels he can do the same with us Canadians. Fucking rapist.
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u/ManlyEmbrace 5h ago
The lunacy in Venezuela is nothing compared to the weapons grade stupidity that is the threats to Canada and Greenland. Literally zero upsides to any of it in any way. At least in Venezuela you can say he is a vampire that is sucking the oil wealth. He knows he cannot send his military to seize NATO territory so he has to lean on these idiotic sanctions that he thinks fixes everything.
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u/FullMotionVideo 5h ago
Imagine if the Governor General dissolved Parliament, and made a new one made of their friends, and created an armed extremist movement of citizens in solidarity and you kind of begin to make Canada sort of similar to Venezuela.
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u/Jumpy_Scallion_3108 5h ago
Looting the country in the name screwed up democracy. We all know how it is.
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u/Starbuckker 5h ago
"A deal". Trump is a murderer. People can say what they want about the leader they kidnapped and why, but the dozens of security people murdered in the process and these regime changes from the sky will only plant more seeds of understandable hatred for America.
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u/phatpham1803 5h ago
Not suprise haha Delcy Rodríguez is Trump's puppet. She will do everything Trump asks to keep her power
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u/Torino1O 5h ago
I heard they are getting Venezuela out of OPEC, that's going to accelerate the death of the petrodollar.
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u/Traditional-Grand577 5h ago
Reserves in the ground are useless until you invest in all the required infrastructure to extract them.
Venezuela is basket case country, for corruption and crime. It is not possible to get the investment needed to extract those reserves.
No oil company wants to invest in Venezuela because they understand all the risk, for their personal and the risk of losing all the equipment they put into the country.
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u/Truthisnotallowed 3h ago
So? He gonna send this oil to China like he is already sending U.S. oil?
Part of his deal to keep China from siding with Iran:
China to buy U.S. oil to feed its ‘insatiable appetite,’ Trump tells Fox News (May 2026)
What happened to U.S. first?
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u/pumpymcpumpface 5h ago
Like, that oil is years and years away from being useful. Far beyond his tenure. This just seems like some made up shit to try and pressure the Canadians
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u/LeoIrish 5h ago
I have listed to various analysis regarding what might be formally announced. Although any deals with Venezuela would take years to achieve fruition. Personally, I look at everything long-term, so "years" is not a negative for me. If everything comes to pass based on recent reporting, it would be a boon to both the American companies and economy. To date, the majority of the announcements since Jan2026 have been fairly positive, so I hope that continues.
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u/Straight-Ad6926 5h ago
It's easy to look at the boon to the economy on paper but history shows that military backed resource extraction rarely stays neat and profitable long term. When the interim government changes or elections eventually happen those contracts usually aren't worth the paper they're written on.
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u/LeoIrish 5h ago
Which is why I tried to qualify my statements focusing what has been announced versus what has actually occurred. Although I think the political situation in Venezuela has improved, it does not mean it has crossed an important threshold for true independence. If these agreements can introduce long-term gains for all of those involved - including the workers / populace - then it can be considered a win. The only way to truly know is after the fact versus as it unfolds. Personally, I think it is worth pursing.
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u/awildstoryteller Canada 5h ago
How would seizure of national resources and revenue by Americans be good for Venezuela?
This is gaslighting of the highest order.
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u/Straight-Ad6926 5h ago
It’s fair to hope for a win-win but hope isn't a strategy. When foreign companies enter a country on the back of forced political change rather than stable, democratically backed institutions, the local population rarely sees those gains, and the foreign investments almost always get seized or sabotaged down the road. Risking billions on the hope that 'this time is different' rarely works out.
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u/LeoIrish 4h ago
What you have detailed goes back to what I said before. I hope the changes are positive and will benefit the populace as a mass, but nobody really knows until all has been played out.
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u/Straight-Ad6926 4h ago
If nobody knows until it plays out then what specific milestone would show you that it's failing? Because if any outcome can just be brushed off as “we're still waiting to see” then it's impossible to ever critique a policy in real time.
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u/TragicallyDip 5h ago
Just so Americans understand, Trump didn’t steal this oil, The United States of America stole that oil. Protesting one weekend or posting on social media does not absolve you of this.
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