Canada Unfazed by US Bid for Control of Venezuelan Oil Reserves

US President Donald Trump has announced a deal to control more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's oil reserves, but experts say Canada shouldn't be worried. The agreement would give the US majority control over one-fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves, which is roughly equivalent to 20% of the country's total reserves.

However, analysts point out that ramping up Venezuelan production is a complex and challenging task, requiring significant investment in infrastructure repairs and new facilities. The Canadian oilpatch, on the other hand, has been setting records for production and has a strong pipeline network in place to export crude oil to refineries in the US.

Alberta's oilsands region produces most of Canada's heavy oil, which is similar in type to Venezuela's oil. According to Ed Sprague, a former deputy energy minister in Alberta, 'one of the things we know about [Venezuela] is we don’t know very much about it.' Sprague notes that the US will have to spend time and money to revive Venezuelan production, which could take five to 10 years.

Despite the potential competition from Venezuela's oil, Canada is increasing its exports of heavy oil to refineries in the US. The Trans Mountain pipeline system, which transports oil from Edmonton to Vancouver, is at capacity, and an initial expansion is expected to be completed by the end of this year.