greggerypeccary wrote on Apr 30
th, 2026 at 8:34pm:
Bobby. wrote on Apr 30
th, 2026 at 8:32pm:
aquascoot wrote on Apr 30
th, 2026 at 8:15pm:
Energy security is economic security.
The USA is an exporter of oil.
Drill baby drill has made America rich.
Now they control Venezuela.
Iran is stuffed because of Trump and going broke.
China needs that Iranian oil and Trump has put himself in a powerful position with Xi.
This is what winning looks like.
Albo and Wong and Bowen going all over south east Asia, sucking dick to try to get some diesel so we can get a crop in the ground.
That is what losing looks like
It will take at least 5 years to get that thick sludge oil out
of the ground in Venezuela and put it through proper
purpose built refineries -
maybe a lot longer - 10 years?
If anyone is interested in doing it, that is.
Google AI:Extracting Venezuelan oil is technically complex and expensive because the majority of reserves, located in the Orinoco Belt, consist of extra-heavy, sour crude with the consistency of cold peanut butter or asphalt. This heavy crude is biodegraded, viscous, and high in sulfur, making it resistant to flow and difficult to refine.
To bring this oil to the surface, operators must use specialized, energy-intensive methods:
Steam Injection: Companies drill horizontal wells in pairs, injecting steam into one well to heat and liquefy the bitumen underground, allowing it to be drawn out through a second well.
Diluent Mixing: The extracted heavy crude must be mixed with costly imported light hydrocarbons (diluents like naphtha) to thin it enough to flow through pipelines. Upgrading: Because the crude is too heavy for standard refineries, it must be processed in specialized "coker" or upgrader facilities to break it into lighter, saleable fractions, a process that is both capital-intensive and carbon-heavy.
These methods require significant capital investment—estimated at
$100 billion to restore production to 1990s levels—and specialized infrastructure that has largely decayed due to years of underinvestment and mismanagement.