21 bottles of beer on the wall, 21 bottles of beer ...
The US embassy in Venezuela has 21 remaining military personnel, Marine detachment included. The Bloomberg writers poohpooh the economics of moving sour oil from the Caribbean to the coast of Asia, but buyers on the coast of Asia are moving oil, sweet and sour, by pipe and by hull, from South West Asia, with significant present cost and projected risk.
Not having to move energy through the Post-Sov mess of 'stans, uphill and complicated in both directions, or across the Indian Ocean, and through a nuclear triangle (India, Pakistan, Diego Garcia), and either sourced from the (potentially) US complicated Islamic Republic, or the (actually) US complicated GCC states, is a pretty attractive long term contract alternative.
It is a side-effect that the current buyer will have to move more energy from the GCC states, and live with complications of its own creation, as well as those inate to the geography, and political geography, of West Asia.
I don't have a crystal ball, but I probably couldn't sleep nights if we Abenakis entered into a long-term contract with CITGO for oil, either at a 40% discount, or even at market prices.
