The Venezuelan oil reserveswho played a key role in the recent attack by the United States, are the largest in the worldwith approximately 300 billion barrels. Most of this oil comes from the Orinoco Belt in east-central Venezuela and is heavy or extra-heavy. It is an oil very thick and viscoussimilar to bitumen, more difficult and expensive to extract and refine than conventional light oil. Yet despite the disadvantages, the United States has particular need for this type of crude oil: their refineries were built precisely to process heavy oil, whose reserves in the world are much more abundant compared to those, which are in the process of being depleted, of light oil.
What characteristics does heavy oil have?
Crude oil is not all the same, but is classified according to its own API grade. The higher the API degree, the lower the density of the crude oil: when the API degree is less than 25 it is called heavy oilwhen it is greater than 40 of light oil. Heavy oil is therefore much denser and viscous compared to the conventional light one. Its greater density is due to a composition rich in asphaltenes, resins, sulfur and heavy metals. This, in turn, is the result of degradation processes which occur when the oil, migrating towards the surface, encounters water containing oxygen and bacteria underground. This interaction removes the lighter fractions of the hydrocarbons, leaving a heavier mixture similar to the bitumen. The largest oil deposits in the world are heavy and extra-heavy oil, like those of Venezuela, and tar sands, like those of Canada.
The critical issues related to the extraction of heavy oil
The high viscosity of heavy oil means that it moves with difficulty, flowing with difficulty into extraction wells, and is therefore much more difficult to recoveralthough in the Orinoco Belt in Venezuela it is found at relatively shallow depths. Therefore they are needed more complex extraction techniqueswhich reduce its viscosity: they are used for this purpose thermal methodswhich use high temperatures, such as high-pressure steam injection, and non-thermal methods which consist in the dilution of heavy oil using solvents capable of thinning it. Subsequent refining is also more complex than that of light oil and requires specialized facilities. They derive from it higher costscompared to those required by light oil extraction, and a greater energy and water consumption. Added to these critical issues are the soil disturbances created by extraction methods and the problem of disposing of any contaminants in the crude oil, such as heavy metals.
Why Trump wants Venezuelan oil: the advantages
Despite these disadvantages, it must be considered that the world’s heavy oil reserves are much more abundant compared to those of conventional oil. For this reason, heavy crude oil is destined to play an increasingly significant role in meeting global energy needs. Additionally, heavy oil refineries can produce a wider range of productsincluding asphalt, lubricating oils and diesel, while light oil is more suitable for petrol and kerosene. To this it must be added that, although expensive to produce and refine, heavy oil can be economically sustainable in the presence of adequate structures and technologies. The latter are widely supplied United States: along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico there are in fact many refineries built specifically to process heavy oil. Their creation dates back to the last century, when the import of heavy crude oil from Venezuela was particularly profitable. Investing in heavy oil refineries it has allowed the United States to tap into resources much larger than those of light oil, for example those of heavy oil in Mexico and Colombia.
