Question: Does The United States Need Venezuela’s Oil?

jrtelfer

Context: On January 3rd, the U.S. Military successfully completed the abduction of Nicolas Maduro from his residence in Caracas, Venezuela. Maduro was extradited to New York to stand trial for various criminal charges being brought against him in that State. The former Vice President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, has now been sworn in as President of Venezuela while President Trump said he has cancelled a second wave of attacks could have taken place if the Venezuelan Government failed to comply with the Trump Administration’s demands (Svirnovskiy, 2026). President Trump has suggested that the United States Executive Branch is running Venezuela and that approved U.S. companies will soon gain access to Venezuelan oil resources which will then be leveraged for the benefit of both the United States and Venezuela (Press Conference: Donald Trump Discusses the Capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela – January 3, 2026, 2026). The Trump Administration has also seized multiple oil tankers and President Trump has stated that Venezuela will soon cede 30-50 million barrels of oil to the United States (Stableford, 2026). All this has occurred with little change in oil futures prices.

Question: The United States was the world’s top producer of oil in 2022 and 2023. Venezuela was not even listed in the top ten (U.S. EIA, 2024). So, does the United States need Venezuela’s Oil: Probably, Maybe, or Probably Not?

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). (n.d.-b). https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=709&t=6

Answer: Probably not. The United States ranks 9th on the world’s list of proven oil reserves (World Population Review, 2026; OPEC, 2026). Trading Economics (2025) lists 18 countries, including Venezuela, with a lower fuel price per liter and 76 countries with a higher fuel price per liter than the United States in December of 2025. So, of the 95 listed countries, the United States ranks 19th on fuel price per liter (Trading Economics, 2025). Does that sound like a country in need of oil?

OPEC (2026) puts Venezuela first on their 2025 list of proven oil reserves and Trading Economics (2025) placed Venezuela lowest on a list of fuel price per liter in December of 2025. It makes sense that the world’s top oil producer (United States) would want to oversee the world’s top supply of oil in Venezuela. But saying the United States needs Venezuelan oil seems slightly gratuitous.

https://publications.opec.org/asb/chapter/show/139/2524/2527

“Need” is defined as a requirement, necessity, or obligation.

“Want” is defined as a desire, wish, yearning, or longing.

So, if the play for Venezuelan oil is a want not a need, is the Executive Branch of the United States Government acting out of greed or necessity? The immediate assumption is greed. But there may be more historical, cultural, economic, and military context that can create insight into current events. So, why does the Trump Administration want Venezuelan oil? That’s a subject for another post…

Sources:

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Published by jrtelfer

https://deliberatingtruth.com/about/

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