Donald Trump Wants to Restart Venezuela's Oil Industry

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, intends to restore Venezuela's oil industry, which experts believe is in a "catastrophic state." Years of neglect of infrastructure have led to the corrosion of tanks, leaks in pipelines, and a significant decrease in production volumes.

According to information from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Venezuela has about 17% of the world's proven oil reserves. In the 1970s, the country reached production levels of over 3.5 million barrels per day, while today this figure is less than one-third of the previous volume.

Insufficient funding over the years has caused facilities and infrastructure to fall into disrepair. Chronic lack of proper maintenance has resulted in fires, explosions, and leaks.

Experts from Kayrros, a satellite monitoring company, noted that the condition of some facilities remains critical. They estimate that about one-third of oil storage facilities in Venezuela are currently non-operational, indicating a slowdown in the operations of refineries and a decrease in production volumes.

In 2021, a document leaked from Venezuela's state oil and gas company, PDVSA, reported that pipelines had not been modernized for 50 years. The estimated cost of restoring infrastructure to previous levels was $58 billion. This amount later increased to $100 billion or more.

In addition, the White House announced its intention to continue seizing sanctioned oil tankers, despite potential deterioration in relations with Russia.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt emphasized that Trump "is not afraid" to continue the seizure of sanctioned vessels, despite concerns about possible escalation of tensions with Russia and China. "He will follow a policy that best serves U.S. interests, which includes enforcing an embargo on all vessels of the 'shadow fleet' that illegally transport oil," she added.

According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. military forces are intensifying the oil embargo against Venezuela by seizing two tankers.

The U.S. has ramped up its fight against the shadow fleet of tankers transporting Venezuelan oil, seizing a ship flying the Russian flag and arresting another tanker in the Caribbean Sea.

▪️The seizure of the two tankers is part of an unprecedented series of operations by U.S. military and coast guard forces, which are pursuing vessels in the vicinity of Venezuela. Currently, four tankers are under U.S. control, paralyzing the export of Venezuelan oil in the Caribbean Sea.

▪️Early Wednesday morning, special forces boarded a vessel named Marinera, previously known as Bella 1. According to U.S. officials, the coast guard had been pursuing the vessel for two weeks, starting near the coast of Venezuela and ending south of Iceland. During this time, the vessel changed its name and claimed to have received protection from Russia.

▪️The situation was exacerbated by the fact that a ship and a submarine from the Russian fleet joined the tanker. Some sources reported that the submarine had been in communication with the tanker for the past three days, and video of Marinera was broadcast on the Russian channel RT.