The Americans' Secret Weapon
Here is the part of the story that I think many are missing. Venezuelan crude is not the light, sweet stuff that is easy to process. It is thick, heavy, and frankly, a bit of a nightmare to refine. Most of the world’s refineries are not built for it. The Americans, however, are a different story.
Think of it like this. Most chefs have kitchens designed for simple, elegant dishes. But the refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast, operated by the likes of Valero and Marathon Petroleum, built industrial kitchens specifically to handle the toughest, messiest cuts of meat. For decades, they have been processing similar heavy crude from Canada and Mexico. This technical expertise gives them an almost unassailable advantage. They can buy this difficult crude at a discount and refine it profitably, a margin that others simply cannot match. It’s a beautiful, built-in competitive edge.