Listen: President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council Ron Ness’ conversation with Steve Hallstrom
NORTH DAKOTA – President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council Ron Ness said the United States’ operation to bring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to our country to face narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges doesn’t have a significant impact on North Dakota’s oil industry.
“This is totally just a play to make sure that China does not have a foothold in the western hemisphere in a large oil-producing potential area like Venezuela,” Ness said on “The Steve Hallstrom Show”.
Ness said Venezuela has large oil reserves of 300 billion barrels of recoverable crude, but that number was estimated while Hugo Chavez was president. Ness added Venezuela produces one million barrels of oil per day while North Dakota produces 1.2 million barrels of oil per day.
Ness said China has a big interest in Venezuela and exports 80 percent of that country’s oil.
Ness said he expects Interior Secretary and former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who’s in charge of the U.S. Geological Survey, to reach out to oil operators in Venezuela to see if their oil reserve and production numbers are updated and accurate.
“This is a political long-term strategy move for the U.S. and also the opportunity for critical mineral development in Venezuela,” Ness explained.
