Crude Vision: An American Oil Empire Is A Flawed Idea
January 17th, 2026
Via The Economist, a look at Donald Trump’s expansive ambitions and limited plans: JUST HOURS after America captured Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s dictator, on January 3rd, President Donald Trump clarified his motivation. “The oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust for a long period of time,” he said. America would “spend billions of dollars, […]
Read more »Can Trump Make Venezuela an Oil Giant Again?
January 12th, 2026
Via the Wall Street Journal, commentary on President Trump’s desire to have U.S. oil companies return to Venezuela in a big way, but the petrostate’s turbulent history suggests formidable challenges ahead: “No one was paying any attention to Venezuelan oil two weeks ago,” a longtime oilman said to me the other day, “but now everyone […]
Read more »Crude Vision: Donald Trump’s Great Venezuelan Oil Gamble
January 5th, 2026
Via The Economist, an article on the challenges facing Venezuela’s oil sector: JUST HOURS after America captured Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s dictator, in a nighttime raid on January 3rd, President Donald Trump clarified his motivation. “The oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust for a long period of time,” he said. “We are […]
Read more »Energy Offshoots: PDVSA
December 8th, 2024
Via Phenomenal World, an article on transformations in Petróleos de Venezuela and geopolitical realignments: Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has been integral to Nicolás Maduro’s government and the greater Chavista project. Despite the state-owned oil company controlling the largest crude oil reserves in the world, its production capabilities have fallen sharply since 2014: the country went […]
Read more »Latin America: Set To Become A Major Oil Producer This Decade
July 12th, 2023
Courtesy of The Economist, a look at Latin America’s oil production future, where Brazil and Guyana are preparing for a bonanza but declining demand threatens the rest of the region: In deep blue waters off the coast of Guyana, gargantuan ships are sucking oil from reservoirs three kilometres below the surface. These machines are transforming the […]
Read more »How the Ukraine War Gave Venezuelan Oil an Opening
June 2nd, 2023
Courtesy of Geopolitical Futures, a report on how Caracas is taking advantage of a key opportunity to revive its energy sector: For years, the Venezuelan economy has been largely disconnected from Western markets. The war in Ukraine, however, initiated a sort of restructuring of the global energy market, sparking renewed interest in Venezuela’s potential as […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.