Its a bit worse than that as the oil produced in Venezuela (Heavy crude oil) needs more processing than say oil out of North Dakota or Texas (West Texas Interme

Its a bit worse than that as the oil produced in Venezuela (Heavy crude oil) needs more processing than say oil out of North Dakota or Texas (West Texas Intermediate). They actually had to import oil to blend to bring up the quality. Since they haven't invested in their industry, they really don't have ability to produce oil as cheaply as other countries and need a much higher price.