FLASH
Shkruar nga PamfletiWith 303 billion barrels, the country holds 17% of world reserves compared to Saudi Arabia's 240 billion barrels.
With 303 billion barrels, according to calculations by the Energy Institute of London, Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world (17% of the global total), compared to 240 billion barrels in Saudi Arabia. Is this enough to justify an intervention that shakes the world balance? History shows that American oil giants have tried to exploit this wealth since 1914, when the first well, Mene Grande, was drilled in Lake Maracaibo, and the attack on the treasure of "black gold" began, which Trump evoked yesterday at a press conference, saying that "American companies will flood in en masse", after previously specifying that "it will be the United States that will lead the country during the transition". And Venezuela is not only oil, but also gas, produced by Eni for domestic supply: now the Italian group can develop a wider business in collaboration with the Americans.
Relations between Washington and Caracas have always been turbulent, due to a series of coups, dictators, sudden regime changes and short intervals of democracy in Venezuela. The first oil concessions with Exxon, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, Texaco and other “sisters” date back to the 1940s, linked to the increase in demand during World War II. After the war, faced with competition from Middle Eastern producers, it was Caracas that proposed an alliance with “enemies” Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, creating OPEC in 1960, which was later expanded to include other producers. The aim was to counter the excessive power of the American giants, but divisions within the cartel — tacitly nurtured by the United States itself — became a constant obstacle.
Meanwhile, in 1976, Venezuela nationalized production, imposing a 50-50% joint venture with Western partners, which was later changed to a 60-40% in favor of the government, with all the attendant tensions. The only interval of democracy and reform during all these decades was the 1990s, when Petróleos de Venezuela gained a reputation for reliability and efficiency. But in 1999, with the election of Chávez, the situation deteriorated to current levels: Maduro's arrival dates back to 2013, while the sanctions on exports belong to Trump I, between 2017–2019. Venezuela was temporarily excluded from OPEC, along with Libya and Iran, also under a US embargo, and does not participate in decision-making on quotas and prices. Today, Sunday, a meeting of the organization was already scheduled, from which experts do not expect significant developments.
“Prices,” notes Davide Tabarelli, president of Nomisma Energia, “are in a fragile equilibrium, around $60 per barrel: this low level has allowed Trump to act, as his concern is that the price of gasoline does not increase, today around $2 per gallon. If we were at the levels of March 2022, after the Russian attack on Ukraine and the rise of oil to $120, he would have thought twice.”
Renewables, electric cars, energy-saving technologies must also be taken into account, all factors that reduce demand for oil. So much so that, economist Patrice Geoffron explained to Le Figaro, the price increases caused by Trump's new war "should not exceed 10-20%, being limited to that part of the heavy and irreplaceable oil produced in Venezuela and processed in specialized refineries in the south of the United States."
Another impetus for the tycoon has been the China factor: in addition to being an important customer of the "clandestine" oil exported from Caracas, Beijing is helping Venezuela rebuild its depreciated oil infrastructure, fueling fears that it could gain too much ground. According to CNN, $58 billion will be needed to return to acceptable production levels./ La Repubblica
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