Politics

[Altitude sickness]

Some time ago, I called my guy to specify I did not want my funds into metals ETFs or futures contracts. Luckily he was way ahead of me.

 

[sgt_zim]

On a smaller scale but same here in Fort Collins, Colorado. City built a light rail system a block west and parallel to the main street that runs north/south through the city. They also bought dozens of “green” buses for the bus routes. Problem is that nobody but bums or vagrants use it! You will see two or three people on the train or on the buses. Millions and millions of dollars spent for a stupid “feel good” liberal project. It’s ridiculous.

The days of applying Hanlon's Razor to such endeavors are long over.

They get the sheep bleating "4 legs good, 2 legs better" and it's nothing but a money-grab for themselves and their cronies.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

US refiners struggle to absorb sudden surge in Venezuelan oil imports​

Reuters
12:21 PM ET Feb-03-2026
By Marianna Parraga, Shariq Khan and Georgina McCartney

HOUSTON/NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Oil refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast are struggling to absorb a rapid surge in Venezuelan crude shipments since last month's flagship $2 billion supply deal between Caracas and Washington, pressuring prices and leaving some volumes unsold, according to traders and shipping data.

The soft U.S. demand represents an early obstacle for President Donald Trump's hopes of sending the majority of the South American country's oil to the United States since U.S. forces captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro last month in a raid in Caracas.

Trading houses Vitol and Trafigura were granted U.S. licenses to market and sell ‌millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil following the U.S. operation and a subsequent supply agreement with interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

The trading houses, which joined energy major Chevron (CVX.NaE) in holding approval to export Venezuelan oil, struck several early deals to sell some cargoes to refiners in the U.S. and Europe. However, with Chevron (CVX.NaE) also raising exports quickly, the trading companies are now finding it harder to secure enough buyers among Gulf Coast refiners, ‍traders said.

"We're all facing this issue where there's more to place and not enough takers," one of the traders said, citing reluctance from ⁠U.S. refiners to buy Venezuelan crude. Some ⁠refiners are complaining that prices, albeit declining, remain high compared to competing Canadian heavy grades.

Venezuelan heavy oil cargoes for delivery at the Gulf Coast are being offered at about $9.50 per barrel below benchmark Brent, versus discounts of between $6 and $7.50 per barrel ‌in mid-January.

Meanwhile, Canadian WCS crude for delivery to the Gulf Coast was trading at a discount of about $10.25 a barrel under Brent futures, a trader said on Tuesday.

Last month, total Venezuelan oil exports to the U.S. almost tripled to 284,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to data based on tanker movements.

The U.S. was absorbing some 500,000 bpd of Venezuelan oil before Washington imposed sanctions on the country in 2019. ⁠But exports to the U.S. went to zero in mid-2025 after Trump revoked all licenses ‍to trade and ship.

Reaching the U.S. refiners' maximum capacity again will require time, one of the traders said, in part because some facilities would require adjustments to process heavier oil.

Refiner Phillips 66 can process around 250,000 bpd of Venezuelan crude, but prices must be competitive for Venezuelan grades to displace other sources of heavy oil, its chief executive Mark ‍Lashier said at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston on Tuesday.

Chevron (CVX.NaE) and Trafigura declined to comment. Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA and Vitol did not reply to requests for comment.

INCREASED COMPETITION

Chevron (CVX.NaE), whose current Venezuela license authorizes it to export to the U.S. only, increased exports to 220,000 bpd in January from 99,000 bpd in December.

Chevron (CVX.NaE) CEO Mike Wirth told investors on Friday that the company's refining network can process up to 150,000 bpd of Venezuela's heavy grades, which implies it must store or market the remaining portion among other refiners.

The firm, which is the only U.S. oil major operating in Venezuela, is producing some 250,000 bpd there. Wirth said the company sees potential for a 50% output increase over the next 18 to 24 months, provided the U.S. authorizes ‍it to expand operations.

Vessel monitoring data this week showed several Chevron (CVX.NaE)-chartered tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude waiting for days to discharge at U.S. ports or slowing down navigation.

A person familiar with Chevron's (CVX.NaE) operations said the company had to negotiate new discharge dates with customers after a U.S. blockade on Venezuela caused shipping delays between December and January. But all cargoes had been sold before departure, the person added.

Meanwhile, Vitol and Trafigura exported some 12 million barrels - equivalent to around 392,000 bpd - from Venezuelan ports in January, mostly to storage terminals in the Caribbean, the data showed.

Much of it has not yet been sold, sources said.

Total Venezuelan oil exports bounced to near 800,000 bpd last month, from 498,000 bpd in December.

China was previously the top destination for Venezuelan oil, but none has been sent there since Maduro's capture in early January, according to the data. The U.S. said after seizing Maduro that it would control Venezuela's oil sales indefinitely.

While China is allowed to purchase the oil, it must not be at "unfair, undercut" prices at which Caracas sold the crude previously, a U.S. official said last month.

Beijing has rejected the U.S. takeover of Venezuela's oil exports.

China's state-owned PetroChina, previously the largest receiver of Venezuelan crude, has told traders not to buy or trade Venezuelan oil while it assesses the situation, separate sources told Reuters last week.

A potential relief valve for the Venezuelan oil could come from India.

On Monday, Trump announced a trade deal with India that slashes U.S. tariffs on Indian goods in exchange for India lowering trade barriers, stopping its purchases of Russian oil and buying oil instead from the U.S. and potentially Venezuela.

India's Reliance Industries ‍last month said it was considering importing Venezuelan oil.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston and Shariq Khan in New York, Georgina McCartney in Houston; Additional reporting by Sheila Dang; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

 

[Altitude sickness]

Hopefully someone in the oil industry can weigh in.

As everyone knows refinery capacity is the issue. nobody wants a refinery in their back yard. , and usually Democrats will not permit them.

Why don’t we build refineries in a nation that won’t delay them for years. I know we import refined oil.

And shockingly. The U.S. Still imports refined Russian oil. Indirectly from other nations.

 

[Betterinthebush]

Why don’t we build refineries in a nation that won’t delay them for years. I know we import refined oil.

This is why:

We’re broke and selling the farm to cover debt. Nobody trusts us.

 

[Trophyhunter01]

I worked in that sector, more chemical side but the Venezuelan crude is nasty to process, thick and high sulphur content. Takes a different/specialized cracker to break that material up. Exxon Baytown and Motiva Port Arthur are two of the larger refineries in the US. P66 is closing refineries in CA at the present time. Production capacity is being reduced. The amount of money spent on turnarounds every 5-7 years to perform maintenance in this space is incredible plus being down, no production with loss opportunity being a huge expense as well. Not uncommon to spend $100 million+ on a 60 day turnaround just on contractors and materials.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Hopefully someone in the oil industry can weigh in.

As everyone knows refinery capacity is the issue. nobody wants a refinery in their back yard. , and usually Democrats will not permit them.

Why don’t we build refineries in a nation that won’t delay them for years. I know we import refined oil.

And shockingly. The U.S. Still imports refined Russian oil. Indirectly from other nations.

Article about one of the newest mega refineries in the world.

How Africa’s largest refinery is redefining Nigeria’s oil economy

Seeking to become the biggest anywhere, the Dangote showpiece reveals both potential and dangerous dependency

cen.acs.org

 

[Altitude sickness]

The U.S. is regulating itself into oblivion. No one will spend the capital knowing that another Democrat will eventually gain power and the billions of sunken costs into a new refinery will never be recouped

Maybe we should ask Russia to increase our current order of refined oil we indirectly buy from them. And send Venezuelan crude to them for refining. ( sarcasm injected). Thats how absurd our long-term fossil fuel strategy is.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Has anyone been paying attention to this ridiculous woke singer Billy Eyelash. I assume her name is from her eyelashes being so big. She can’t hold her eyes open. Or is that the weed.

Anyway she proclaimed nobody is an illegal alien on stolen land. Then an Indian tribe comes out and claims it’s their land. So apparently nobody in California reads anthropology, history or science books, studies or discoveries.

It’s well documented that Native Americans came over from Asia approximately 30,000 years ago.

There is also solid evidence that “pre-humans” existed in southern California 130,000 years ago. Long before what we now refer to as Native Americans were here.

My six-year-old grandson knows this.

Why are we still repeating these age old ignorant myths as facts?

Spaniards, Aztec, Mayans, Native Americans, then the Johnny come lately Mexicans. all fought for the same dirt in the SW.

So we should have a DNA test of which current American is most directly related to the people that were there 130,000 years ago and they get ownership Billy eyelashes mansion property.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/new-evidence-human-activity-north-america-130000-years-ago-180963046/#:~:text=A%20study%20published%20in%20the%20journal%20*Nature*,bones%20found%20in%20later%20North%20American%20sites**

 

[Aaron N]

Hopefully someone in the oil industry can weigh in.

As everyone knows refinery capacity is the issue. nobody wants a refinery in their back yard. , and usually Democrats will not permit them.

Why don’t we build refineries in a nation that won’t delay them for years. I know we import refined oil.

And shockingly. The U.S. Still imports refined Russian oil. Indirectly from other nations.

You’d think it wouldn’t be that difficult (and far more cost effective) to build an upgrader in Venezuela (if the situation stabilizes) and then have a synthetic crude of sorts which is easier to transport and market.

Oooooooor, you can just be awesome neighbours and use Canadian supply to keep the heavy upgraders/refineries fed.

 

[steve white]

Public transit light rail and subway systems throughout the U.S. don’t come close to covering the operating costs so require subsidies from the federal, state and local governments. I used to ride the light rail for free as long as I was in uniform and throw the occasional bum off or quell disturbances.

Despite subsidies and ticket revenue, the cost escalates--today, I bought some shoes at Northpark in Dallas--the receipt listed the amount of sales tax that WAS FOR RAPID TRANSIT. Now we're taxed above and beyond, like it or not!

 

[steve white]

125M oz/Silver drained from COMEX since November’25.
View attachment 743527
A lot of free money was pocketed the last 72 hours with a ~$20-$35 spread between the Shanghai premium and Chicago futures contracts that sold @ $72-$84 and stood for delivery. That silver will never be repatriated back onshore here in the US.

Hard to build tomahawk missiles out of recycled beer cans.

Chart shows where you SHOULD have gotten out of it, lol?
Seems an opportunity that good only comes along every so many decades....

 

[Betterinthebush]

Has anyone been paying attention to this ridiculous woke singer Billy Eyelash. I assume her name is from her eyelashes being so big. She can’t hold her eyes open. Or is that the weed.

Anyway she proclaimed nobody is an illegal alien on stolen land. Then an Indian tribe comes out and claims it’s their land. So apparently nobody in California reads anthropology, history or science books, studies or discoveries.

It’s well documented that Native Americans came over from Asia approximately 30,000 years ago.

There is also solid evidence that “pre-humans” existed in southern California 130,000 years ago. Long before what we now refer to as Native Americans were here.

My six-year-old grandson knows this.

Why are we still repeating these age old ignorant myths as facts?

Spaniards, Aztec, Mayans, Native Americans, then the Johnny come lately Mexicans. all fought for the same dirt in the SW.

So we should have a DNA test of which current American is most directly related to the people that were there 130,000 years ago and they get ownership Billy eyelashes mansion property.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/new-evidence-human-activity-north-america-130000-years-ago-180963046/#:~:text=A%20study%20published%20in%20the%20journal%20*Nature*,bones%20found%20in%20later%20North%20American%20sites**

One of my great grandfathers was sold to a labor broker (slave trader) in 1900 by his father to cure a debt. He was,essentially, an indentured servant working for a coal mining company in eastern Pa until he was 25 when his company lein on his labor was satisfied.

He died a very loved and wealthy landowner a year after he buried his Hungarian bride of 48 years that bore him 5 sons. He forbade his sons from speaking Hungarian. English was the tongue of commerce and he was not going to have his sons known as anything other than Americans.

A different time.

 

[Betterinthebush]

Chart shows where you SHOULD have gotten out of it, lol?
Seems an opportunity that good only comes along every so many decades....

Eh.., I’m not worried. We’ll see how this fleshes out.

 

[deewayne2003]

Oooooooor, you can just be awesome neighbours and use Canadian supply to keep the heavy upgraders/refineries fed.

It's not about denying Canada, every article I've read on the matter says the Venezuela oil is hard to work with.

This is about finding a buyer for Venezuelan oil other than China.

China has been buying at a steep discount and as I've said before; the infrastructure in Venezuela is so broken that tankers have to anchor off of Caracas and have divers scrub the hull; otherwise the tankers are still so dirty the Chinese will not allow them in port.

Think about that....how dirty does the hull of a tanker have to be for the Chinese to deny port entry?

 

[Brent in Az]

I talked to my metals guy today. Told me to stockpile my empty beer cans..

I said that certainly wasn't a problem.

 

[Brent in Az]

French authorities raid Elon Musk's X offices in Paris.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Wrong again. The fact is he was in front when fired the first shot. As for the incident when he was drug by another vehicle, it was a couple weeks or more beforehand and he got caught up in the window as the vehicle drove away after reaching in to open or unlock the door.

The only bullethole in the windshield was very low corner driver's side. Clearly, if he had fired that round from the front of the vehicle, it would have missed her. According to the family's pathologist, no rounds missed her. The other three rounds were fired through the window as she drove by. The last one entered her left temple and took out the right side of her head.

Yeah, he got "caught up" because he didn't let go of the car.

 

[Tanks]

The other three rounds were fired through the window as she drove by. The last one entered her left temple and took out the right side of her head.

You know, on an earlier post you mentioned he should not have fired due to homes, other people being around. Her "wife" was sitting in the passenger side and she did not get hit. The last one , if it was like you said, should have hit her I'd think.

 

[Flipper Dude]

Y’all still listening to this booger eating moron @Ontario Hunter ?

Seriously?