Let's talk about Trump, oil, and the costs in Venezuela not adding up....

1.651 - 27.656 Beau

Well, howdy there, Internet people. It's Belle again. So today, we're going to talk about Trump, oil, and the costs in Venezuela not adding up. So, Trump has started gloating about the tens of millions of barrels of oil he says that Maduro's deputies, who are still in power, will give him. Of course, the announcement came out on social media.

28.357 - 42.824 Beau

Quote, I am pleased to announce that the interim authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 million barrels of high-quality sanctioned oil to the United States of America.

42.844 - 70.285 Beau

This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States. I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan immediately. It will be taken by storage ships and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.

71.106 - 87.632 Beau

Thank you for your attention to this matter. First, let me start by saying that Venezuela doesn't have high-quality oil. It has heavy sour crude. But this announcement has been cheered by people as some kind of major win.

88.304 - 117.417 Beau

Setting aside the potential legal issues with this, 50 million barrels actually isn't a lot. It's about two and a half days of U.S. demand. With the current price, it's a little north of $2.5 billion. Do you know what it costs to have the USS Ford down there? Somewhere between $6.5 and $8 million a day. That's not combat operations. That's just it chilling there.

117.717 - 142.476 Beau

It was ordered to the area around October 24th, so we're already looking at a half a billion. But it's likely more, because the Ford is on an extended deployment, coming to the coast of Venezuela straight from the Med. Then, you have to add in the cost of stationing a carrier off the coast for the foreseeable future, which is the plan according to the Trump administration.

143.215 - 170.117 Beau

Forget influencing the country at some later date. Just importing the 50 million barrels will take months, which will put just the carrier costs at over a billion dollars. Then you have to add the cost of the one-way drones, the fuel for the 150 aircraft deployed during the strike, the cost of their munitions, and then add in whatever he means by saying oil companies will be reimbursed.