Di Yi Cai Jing·2026-01-05 02:35Group 1 - The U.S. military conducted a large-scale military strike against Venezuela, capturing President Maduro and announcing plans for U.S. oil companies to invest billions in Venezuela's oil infrastructure [1] - Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves at approximately 303 billion barrels, accounting for 17% of global reserves, but its daily oil production is currently below 1 million barrels [2][3] - Venezuela's oil production has sharply declined since 2017 due to U.S. sanctions, dropping from over 2 million barrels per day to around 300,000 barrels per day by 2020 [2] Group 2 - As of November 2025, Venezuela's oil production was 934,000 barrels per day, a month-on-month decrease of 2.3%, with an average annual production of 916,000 barrels per day, reflecting an 8.57% year-on-year increase [2] - In November 2025, Venezuela's oil export volume was 653,000 barrels per day, a month-on-month decrease of 16.71%, with an average annual export volume of 728,000 barrels per day, showing a 10.7% year-on-year increase [3] - The current geopolitical instability between the U.S. and Venezuela is likely to support oil prices in the short term, but ongoing developments need to be monitored [3] Group 3 - Venezuela's oil is primarily heavy and extra-heavy crude, which requires special processing and diluents for transportation and refining, resulting in higher extraction and operational costs compared to conventional light crude [3] - Prior to 2019, Venezuela was a key source of heavy oil for the U.S., but due to sanctions, imports have fallen to less than 100,000 barrels per day in 2025, with Canada and Mexico now being the top suppliers [4] - In 2025, WTI and Brent crude oil prices fell approximately 20% from the beginning of the year, influenced by OPEC+ production increases and oversupply in the oil market [4]