Welcome to the age of ‘petro diplomacy’
Venezuela was clearly a warning shot to the hemisphere and the world, says Dan Pickering, founder of the Pickering Energy Partners consulting and research firm. Why now? The U.S. leads the world in oil and natural gas production, but its industries are maturing, meanwhile the U.S. needs help with critical minerals supply chains dominated by China. “Anything to keep more production close and friendly, I think we want to do,” Pickering told Fortune. That said, “Any next military step [beyond Venezuela] seems a lot harder to justify.”
Some fear Trump’s gambit could embolden our enemies
“These are neocon fantasies. People don’t like their governments, but they really don’t like the U.S. coming in and dictating to them,” observes David Goldwyn, Atlantic Council fellow and State Department special envoy for international energy in the Obama administration. Military action against Venezuela doesn’t deter China and Russia, it emboldens and incentivizes them to act against Taiwan and Ukraine, respectively, he said.
It will be years before U.S. companies see a profit in Venezuela
