Key Highlights
- While oil prices may rise in the short term due to uncertainty, the longer-term outlook points to potential price declines.
- Emerging markets could benefit from lower inflation and interest rates if that scenario plays out. On January 3, the United States carried out military strikes in Venezuela, with US special forces capturing President Nicolás Maduro and extraditing him to face narco-terrorism charges.
- US President Donald Trump has since announced that Washington will oversee Venezuela’s political transition, take control of its vast oil reserves, and encourage American companies to revive the country’s struggling oil industry. The move represents one of the most significant geopolitical shifts in Latin America in decades and comes at a time when global markets are already grappling with heightened volatility.
- For investors, the key question is whether this development will trigger sustained disruption—or ultimately stabilise energy prices. Venezuela’s Oil: Why It MattersVenezuela sits on the largest proven oil reserves in the world.
- Estimates suggest the country holds around 303 billion barrels of crude—nearly a fifth of global reserves.
