As Venezuela Spirals, U.S. Oil Confronts a $10 Billion Threat
- Refineries are calibrated to handle the nation’s sludgy crude
- An embargo could spike gasoline prices, at least for a while
Sen. Rubio Says Venezuela Oil Sanctions Are Possible
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The tanker Paramount Helsinki docked in Pascagoula, Mississippi, last week bearing the lifeblood of Chevron Corp.’s refinery there: 532,000 barrels of thick Venezuelan oil.
Its arrival on July 23, as Venezuela’s democracy slid into what may be its final crisis, underscores the uneasy partnership that the American oil industry has entered with a nation some fear is marching toward dictatorship.