The American network CNN reported that Venezuela’s oil reserves, which exceed 300 billion barrels, are estimated to be the largest in the world.
In an extensive report, the network said that Venezuelan oil represents a tempting opportunity for Trump, who reveres fossil fuels and has already set out a vision for American oil companies to invest billions of dollars to extract this black gold.
US President Donald Trump is now demanding these massive reserves following his overthrow of President Nicolás Maduro.
Black Molasses
CNN quoted Guy Prince, head of energy supply research at the independent research centre Carbon Tracker, as saying: “Venezuelan oil is not considered polluting for ideological reasons, but for physical and infrastructural reasons.”
The dominant type of oil in Venezuela, which is mostly extracted from the Orinoco Belt, a vast stretch of land extending across the eastern part of the country, is known as heavy sour crude oil. It is similar to Canadian oil sands.
This oil is characterised by its thick viscosity, resembling molasses, and contains a higher concentration of carbon that contributes to global warming compared to light oil. Because of its viscosity, extracting heavy oil is more difficult and energy-intensive.
For his part, Lorne Stockman, co-director of research at the nonprofit environmental organisation Oil Change International, said: “The oil does not flow from the well as a liquid. It must be heated, usually by injecting steam into the reservoir. This requires enormous amounts of energy, primarily derived from natural gas, which contributes to global warming.”
The negative impacts are not limited to extraction alone. The high sulphur content of this oil makes refining it into useful products such as gasoline and diesel more difficult and costly. It also requires specialised equipment and more energy-intensive processes, which increases climate pollution, according to the report.
In addition, Prince from Carbon Tracker said: “The infrastructure in Venezuela is old and deteriorating, which increases the risk of methane leakage, flaring, and explosions.”
Methane is a serious climate problem, as this greenhouse gas is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the short term.
Six Times
According to the International Energy Agency, the intensity of methane emissions from oil and gas operations in Venezuela is six times the global average. This is partly due to high rates of flaring excess natural gas in the country, a practice that releases massive amounts of methane when burned.
CNN reported that currently, the climate pollution emitted per barrel of Venezuelan oil produced exceeds twice the global average, according to Patrick King, head of emissions research at the consulting firm Rystad Energy.
The climate impact could be reduced if major American oil companies intervened, as they have succeeded in lowering emissions intensity in some of their global oil operations, King noted.
However, Patrick King added that “there are limits” to what can be reduced, and extracting Venezuelan oil will continue to require enormous amounts of energy. Programs to reduce gas flaring are also extremely costly.
Serious Environmental Concerns
Venezuelan oil also raises serious environmental concerns. The country suffers from pipeline leaks and aging infrastructure, which increases the risk of spills, according to the report.
It is difficult to obtain accurate data on the number of spills, especially after the national oil company stopped publishing its reports publicly in 2016. However, other organisations have published estimates.
The Venezuelan Observatory of Environmental Human Rights issued a report in 2022 documenting 199 spills between 2016 and 2021, noting that the real number is likely much higher.
Stockman from Oil Change International said: “Whether in Canada or Venezuela, we should not be digging this stuff up.”
The risks are not limited to the climate and the environment alone. The economic viability of exploiting Venezuelan oil may also be questionable.
Venezuelan oil production has declined significantly since 2016, when it stood at around two million barrels per day. It now produces less than one million barrels per day. This is partly due to US sanctions and declining investment.
Before the US military operation, projections pointed to further decline.
Oil Production
Data from Rystad Energy, published on Monday, indicate that maintaining the current level of oil production would require investments exceeding 53 billion dollars over the next fifteen years.
Rystad concluded that raising production to Venezuela’s peak level, which exceeded three million barrels per day, would require an enormous sum of up to 183 billion dollars. This is a costly idea in a world awash with oil, where prices are low and where the peak of global oil demand may be approaching rapidly.
Prince said: “In today’s energy market, this simply does not align with reality.” He added: “It would be an extremely expensive way to produce high cost, high-emissions oil at a time when global demand growth is slowing. It is simply an illogical scenario.”
It is difficult to predict the global climate consequences of a significant increase in Venezuelan oil production, if that is even possible.
Diego Rivera Revuelta, associate researcher at the Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said that it would depend largely on how the oil is extracted, “but most likely carbon emissions would rise significantly.”
However, other scenarios exist. King explained that an increase in Venezuelan production may not necessarily mean an increase in global production if output declines in other regions.
Prince added that what may matter most is the impact on global efforts to halt the climate crisis: “The greatest climate impact of intervention in Venezuela would not be the release of vast amounts of carbon, but an indirect one: diverting attention away from the transition to clean energy, reinforcing a resource conflict mindset that prevailed in the twentieth century, and creating instability that slows coordinated climate action.”
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