European Refiners Up Imports of Russian Sour

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

... because U.S. sanctions have cut flow of Venezuelan oil, apparently. Here. I tell ya, this whole sanction charade must have been Putin's personal idea. 

[Meredith Poor + 883]

2 hours ago, Marina Schwarz said:

... because U.S. sanctions have cut flow of Venezuelan oil, apparently. Here. I tell ya, this whole sanction charade must have been Putin's personal idea. 

Perhaps, but power cuts and domestic chaos might be equally responsible.

There are plenty of countries that are 'socialist', and plenty more run by strong-arm dictators, that manage to keep their oil industry functional. Norway is technically an example of the former, and there's no shortage of examples of the latter. Venezuela is getting their advice from Cuba - a shining example of economic progress and prosperity.

[Oil_Engineer + 86]

1 hour ago, Meredith Poor said:

Perhaps, but power cuts and domestic chaos might be equally responsible.

There are plenty of countries that are 'socialist', and plenty more run by strong-arm dictators, that manage to keep their oil industry functional. Norway is technically an example of the former, and there's no shortage of examples of the latter. Venezuela is getting their advice from Cuba - a shining example of economic progress and prosperity.

Norway isn't socialist.  It has a capitalist economy with strong social safety net.

[John Foote + 1,135]

Something that gets forgotten with Venezuela is the technocrat brain drain, and the state of the oil infrastructure. You can't have a hole in the ground and get oil. The infrastructure and human capital and labor required is lacking.

Today the costs of getting a barrel out in Venezuela means the majority of their mismanaged reservoirs are not economically recoverable today. With serious investment and time you could again pump a lot. But today, you could have zero sanctions, and they couldn't pump that much.  You can't just turn in on, it took a lot of years to get to this point. It will take more than sanctions relief to change it. Imagine just trying to recruit your workforce back into the country. It's a mess on so many levels.