TULSA, Okla. — Public and private oil producers are expected to meet at the White House on January 9 to discuss next steps for Venezuela's oil industry, but Oklahoma consumers shouldn't expect to see changes at the gas pump for years.
Venezuela sits on the world's largest oil reserves, but currently produces less than 1% of today's total global oil production.
Despite Venezuela's political upheaval, energy experts say the infrastructure damage to its oil industry is too severe for immediate production increases.
"30 years ago, oil prices would have spiked, gasoline prices would have spiked, but the shale revolution, of which Oklahoma was a major player, really changed all that, and frankly, that's why prices haven't spiked," said Brook Simmons, president of the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma.
Venezuela's oil industry remains in disrepair after years of mismanagement under previous governments. The country's production plummeted from 3 million barrels per day 15 to 20 years ago to just 1 million barrels today.
"It's going to take probably 3 to 5 years and $100 billion of investment just to increase Venezuelan production," Simmons said.
Matt McClain, a petroleum analyst with GasBuddy, agrees that the timeline for any impact remains distant.
"So for gas prices in 2026, Venezuela will not really have an impact," McClain said.
Potential long-term benefits for Oklahoma consumers
McClain points to one potential silver lining for Oklahoma consumers down the road. Venezuela produces heavy, sour crude oil that he told 2 News is perfect for making diesel and jet fuel, which could eventually lower diesel prices if more of reaches refineries.
"Everything that's put on a store shelf, it's shipped there by tractor-trailers, which use diesel fuel. The shipping costs are factored into the price point of any product that you see on the shelf," McClain said.
"Eventually, and we're talking a long way down the road, we may start to see pennies come off of each product, but 30 or 40 products in the cart every week, and you're going to start adding up on some savings there as well," McClain said.
However, he cautioned that any savings remain far in the future, likely not materializing until the second half of this year at the earliest.
Oklahoma oil industry faces separate challenges
Meanwhile, Simmons warns that other factors closer to home are influencing Oklahoma's oil industry more immediately than Venezuela's situation.
"The world is already oversupplied with oil, and for months, all the signs have been pointing toward a flattening or a slowdown in U.S. rig activity. So, we are going to produce fewer barrels in the United States in the short term until the market comes into balance," Simmons said.
The United States currently produces 13.5 million barrels of oil per day and has become the world's largest petroleum exporter. Oklahoma produces approximately 417,000 barrels of oil daily, about half of Venezuela's current output, according to Simmons.
Simmons added that the 30 to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil that the U.S. is taking control of represent oil already in storage, either on water or onshore in Venezuela. This existing inventory will be marketed to help both the United States and the Venezuelan people.
Simmons told 2 News that Venezuela accounts for less than 1% of total global daily production, despite holding the world's largest proven reserves of 303 billion barrels of oil.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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