The US refinery now processing Venezuelan oil

The US refinery now processing Venezuelan oil7 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleSamira Hussain,Business correspondentandNathalie Jimenez,Pascagoula, MississippiWatch: Venezuelan oil is flowing to the US again. But will it lower petrol prices?The Minerva Gloria is docked at a wharf in the Mississippi Sound, not far from the US's vast oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico.The ship, 820ft (250m) long, painted navy and burgundy, is carrying precious cargo from Venezuela that, just six months ago, would have been impossible to bring to the US - 400,000 barrels of crude oil.Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves. Under Venezuela's former president Nicholas Maduro oil exports had dropped significantly, due to a lack of investment. Then came US sanctions against any imports from the Latin American country.But US President Donald Trump vowed to tap those reserves after the US military captured Maduro in a surprise, night-time raid in January.James Cooke/BBCThe vast Minerva Gloria oil tanker transported 400,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude to the USTrump eyes Venezuela visit – but obstacles to his oil plan remainUS lifts sanctions on Venezuelan interim leader Delcy RodríguezWhy the Strait of Hormuz matters so much in the Iran warNow the oil is flowing again in Venezuela. In March, the country's monthly crude exports surpassed one million barrels per day. The first time since September.As the world reels from the impact on global energy prices caused by Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz, big oil and gas companies like Chevron are now importing Venezuelan crude oil by the shipload."It's a big deal not only for Chevron but the entire Gulf region," says Tim Potter. He is the director for Chevron's oil refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the company's largest operation in the US. It is also the only major US oil company currently operating in Venezuela.Together this means that Chevron can extract its own Venezuelan oi...