Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday touted what he called a unique U.S. capability to refine Venezuela's abundance of crude oil, a linchpin of the Trump administration's takeover strategy for the country.

Refiner Phillips 66 can run Venezuelan crude at two U.S. Gulf Coast refineries as production ramps up, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Mitchell said. Mitchell said its Lake Charles and Sweeny refineries in Texas have the capacity to process a couple of hundred thousand barrels per day of Venezuelan crudes.

The Trump administration said it had an agreement with Venezuela’s government, but the country’s state-owned oil company said negotiations were underway.

The world is producing more oil than it needs, so 2026 prices are expected to be lower. The question is how low a barrel will get. “$50 to $60 range is what most are seeing. Now some are calling for prices to dip into the $40s,” said Garrett Golding with the Dallas Fed.

Despite holding the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela’s oil industry collapsed after expropriations, mismanagement, and the loss of foreign expertise left it unable to produce its technically demanding heavy crude at scale.

Following are key facts about the oil and mining sectors of Venezuela, whose President Nicolas Maduro was captured by U.S. forces on Saturday.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Robert Rapier is a chemical engineer covering the energy sector. This article is more than 2 years old. CRANE, TEXAS - MARCH 12: In an aerial view, an oil pumpjack works in the Permian ...

The Oil Ministry reached an important deal with UK-based Wood Mackenzie to assess oil production costs in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Oil prices are soaring to seven-year highs, but don’t expect US oil producers to ramp up supply. On the face of it, it’s an ideal time for US firms to cash in on high prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: Traders are nervous about purchasing ...

Nigeria’s oil production rebounded strongly in 2025 under sector reforms and rising investment, but output still fell well short of the government’s ambitious targets.

American helicopters and a Coast Guard vessel were being used to board the tanker under law enforcement authority granted to the Coast Guard, while American and British submarine-