U.S.–Venezuela oil deal unlikely to threaten Canada’s oil industry

President Donald Trump announced on social media that the agreement will give the U.S. a majority equity stake in a private Venezuelan company, effectively putting the American government in a position to tap into 65 billion barrels of reserves.

However, analysts point out that Venezuela is still producing only about 900,000 barrels per day, far below its 1970 peak of 3.7 million barrels, and that a noticeable increase in Venezuelan exports is expected to take another five to ten years.

Canada, by contrast, is currently supplying more than 60 percent of the United States’ crude imports and is breaking its own production records, while new pipeline projects are expanding export capacity. Alberta’s former deputy energy minister Grant Sprague said the United States would have to spend “an awful lot of money” to develop Venezuelan oil, and that Canadian executives are “not losing sleep” over the deal.

In short, the U.S.–Venezuela arrangement is unlikely to pose an immediate threat to Canada’s oil sector, which remains well‑positioned to meet U.S. demand and to grow its own export markets.

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