Russia & China Facing Major Problem - Joe Blogs

In this video, I look at what the United States’ growing involvement in Venezuela could mean for the global oil market — and why it may spell bad news for both China and Russia.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but years of nationalization, under-investment, sanctions and mismanagement caused production to collapse from 3.7 million barrels per day in 1970 to around 800,000 barrels per day today. With the US now stepping back in, investment banks believe Venezuelan output could recover significantly over the coming years.

That matters because global oil markets are already facing the risk of oversupply in 2026. More Venezuelan oil hitting the market would put downward pressure on prices, directly hitting Russia’s oil export revenues and weakening its ability to fund spending.

At the same time, much of Venezuela’s sanctioned oil has been sold at discounts to China. If those barrels are redirected toward the US and its allies, China could be forced to buy more oil on the open market — at higher prices, increasing costs for its economy.

In this video, I break down:
• Why US oil companies returned to Venezuela in the past
• What changed under Chávez and Maduro
• How Venezuela’s production could recover
• Why falling oil prices hurt Russia
• Why China could lose access to cheap Venezuelan crude

And what this all means for the future of the global oil industry.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:06 OIL RESERVES
4:24 PRODUCTION
8:31 RUSSIA
13:58 CHINA
16:34 USA