Who buys oil from Venezuela? These are the biggest buyers of Venezuelan crude
Trump’s actions in Venezuela yesterday sent shockwaves around the world, yet his intentions are not as clear as he makes them out to be.
Hello! Welcome along to How to Make Billions of Dollars in One Morning. All you need to play is: a left-wing leader with a questionable economic and democratic record, a state-of-the-art armed forces, a USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, a phonebook full oil industry CEO friends, a Mar-a-Lago mansion, a tin of orange paint, the wig of a dead Norwegian, and a Truth Social account.
“We are going to run the country,” he said. “We are going to run the country. That is what we are all about... We are there now, and we are going to stay until a proper transition can take place. We are going to run it, essentially until a proper transition can take place."
Donald Trump’s words pierced through the room as the thundering heartbeats ahead of him forced blood through internal canals at extraordinary rates to keep flow fresh to the eyes, ears, and typing fingers scrambling to keep up with exactly what was unfolding at Mar-a-lago.
The Venezuela plot thickens:
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) January 4, 2026
While Venezuela holds 303 BILLION barrels of oil reserves, much of this is HEAVY crude oil.
Texas and Louisiana also *happen* to have 6 of the LARGEST HEAVY crude oil refineries in the world.
What does this mean? Let us explain.
(a thread) pic.twitter.com/klfm4Lv2sy
“Our very large oil companies will go in and start making money”
“The oil business in Venezuela has been a bust for a long period of time,” Trump stated, his waist jaggedly twisting in typical fashion like a salt grinder, lips pursed like a defensive sea sponge.
“They were pumping almost nothing compared to what they could have.” Teeth glinting like a trickster’s blue eye, hands now level with his breasts, palms pumping air from that invisible concertina. "We are going to have our very large oil companies go in, spend billions, fix the oil infrastructure and start making money for the country."
Who buys Venezuelan oil?
So Trump is going in for the oil, but who buys it now? At present, Venezuela’s oil exports have been slowly growing, and were up to 10.5% in 2024, with China shipping home a whopping 68%.
The U.S. still accounted for 23%, making it the second-largest buyer but Spain and Cuba (4% each) also contributed to the sales, with Singapore, Malaysia, and Russia also taking some too.
In case you don't realize what just happened:
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) January 3, 2026
Venezuela holds the LARGEST oil reserves in the world, at 300 billion barrels.
The US is now "running" Venezuela with large US oil companies moving in, according to Trump.
The US now controls the largest oil reserve in the world. pic.twitter.com/cpBfZpTWC6
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What happens next in terms of Venezuela and its government, oil, and people, not even top Republicans or oil company CEOs are sure, but it will come last minute from Trump and his cabinet of followers who seem hell bent on making everyone fear them like classroom bullies.
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