What Christians Should Know About Venezuela’s Oil Industry and U.S. Involvement

Check out the featured post and read more here: https://www.crosswalk.com/headlines/contributors/guest-commentary/what-christians-should-know-about-venezuelas-oil-industry-and-us-involvement.html

Venezuela has been in and out of headlines for a while, but the oil industry has made a negative comeback with President Trump’s recent review:

“As everyone knows, the oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust for a long period of time,” said Trump. “They were pumping almost nothing by comparison to what they could have been pumping and what could have taken place.”

While Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves—17% to be exact (U.S. Energy Information Administration) —it’s estimated that they’re sitting on approximately 303 billion barrels of oil as of 2023. Decades of government issues, policy shifts, international sanctions, and the country’s economic crisis have hampered what could be.

Through a Christian worldview, we know that global responsibility is our responsibility. Justice is valuable for all citizens, and individuals can make a meaningful impact. There is complexity in how one can intervene and act, from the complexity of geopolitics to the effects of nationalization.

Again, Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world, but the oil that once fueled economic prosperity now reflects mismanagement and corruption. Chevron, the only major US oil company operating in Venezuela for more than a century, has noted that it remains “focused on the safety and well-being of its employees,” but that can’t undo the decline of PDVSA (state-owned oil company), the impact of infrastructure collapse, or the lack of foreign investment.

While U.S. sanctions have heavily impacted operations, this is primarily due to human rights concerns and democratic backsliding under Maduro. Not only did these sanctions affect oil exports and Venezuela’s economy, but there has been much debate as to whether the sanctions have helped or harmed civilians. This has also created immense ethical tension between accountability and compassion.

Today, we’ve seen recent changes in U.S. involvement, including temporary sanctions relief tied to election agreements, interest in stabilizing global oil markets, and the role of Chevron and limited licenses, as mentioned earlier. But this poses an important question: What happens if Venezuela fails to uphold election commitments?