American refineries in the New Orleans area and Texas have specialized facilities to process thick Venezuelan oil.
Posted by The Rob Carson Show, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
The Rob Carson ShowSep 7, 2026
Multiple sources report that Gulf Coast refineries in Louisiana (including Norco near New Orleans, Garyville, and Lake Charles) and Texas (Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, Sweeny) are built or configured to process heavy, sour Venezuelan crude, so the claim's core assertion holds as of 2026-09-07.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… That's right, and, you know, people don't realize Venezuelan oil is almost unusable by most refineries. It's very, very thick. It's like molasses, except for American refineries in the New Orleans area and in Texas. We have specialized facilities that can transfer this oil into gasoline and other petroleum products. That doesn't exist anymore, so there will be a lot of jobs created in the United States by this, by this deal. …
The Rob Carson Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Reuters reports Marathon Petroleum's refineries, including the 606,000-barrel-per-day facility in Garyville, Louisiana, have the ability to process heavier grades of Venezuelan crude.[1]
Supports. Valero operates refineries in Corpus Christi and Port Arthur, Texas and in Norco, Louisiana that can together process up to 925,000 barrels per day of heavy oil, and the Gulf Coast refineries are specifically engineered for heavy sour crude like Venezuela's.[2]
Supports. Phillips 66 says its Lake Charles refinery in Louisiana and Sweeny refinery in Texas can process about 200,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan grades if supply is available.[3][4]
Supports. Texas Tribune reports Gulf Coast refiners are among the world's largest buyers of heavy crude, and Valero said it ramped up Venezuelan purchases after Maduro's capture.[5]
Sources
5 sources: 1 fact-checker, 4 not rated
- 1Marathon Petroleum buys Venezuelan crude for US ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Maduro ouster could mean work for Gulf Coast refineriesstmarynow.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3These Stocks Could Gain From Venezuela's Upheavalinvestopedia.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4US refiners could see quick boost from Venezuela oil - Argus Mediaargusmedia.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Gulf Coast refineries see opportunity in Venezuelan oiltexastribune.org · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post