Expensive Diesel And Unstable Gasoline: How The Type Of Oil From Venezuela, The USA, And Brazil Defines Fuel Prices

Written by Roberta Souza

Published on 06/01/2026 at 09:32

Foto: Ia

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Differences in Crude Oil Explain Why Fuels Remain Expensive Even with High Production in Brazil and Help Understand the Weight of Venezuelan Heavy Oil in the Global Market.

Heavy Oil, Expensive Diesel: Why Venezuelan Oil Makes Such a Difference in Fuel Prices

Whenever oil comes into discussion, the main question from consumers is straightforward: why do gasoline and diesel remain expensive?
The answer involves a factor little known outside the energy sector: not all oil is the same, and the type produced in each country directly influences the cost of fuels.

Venezuela, the United States, and Brazil produce crude oils with very different characteristics — and this helps explain price formation in the global market.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Types of Crude Oil: The Difference That Affects Your Wallet

Crude oil is primarily classified by density and sulfur content, factors that determine refining costs and which fuels can be produced more efficiently.

United States:
- Predominance of light, sweet crude Simpler refining
- Ideal for gasoline
Venezuela:
- Heavy and extra-heavy crude More complex refining
- Essential for diesel, asphalt, and industrial fuels
Brazil:
- Major production of medium to light crude, especially in the pre-salt layer
- High quality but with limitations for large-scale diesel production

In practice, this means that having a lot of oil does not guarantee cheap fuel if the type produced is not the most suitable for a given derivative.

Venezuela Concentrates the Most Critical Oil for Diesel

Venezuela has about 303 billion barrels of proven reserves, the largest volume in the world, according to data from EIA and OPEC+.
A large portion of these reserves is heavy oil, precisely the one most used to produce diesel.

The reduction of this oil’s presence in the international market in recent years has contributed to:

decrease in global diesel supply
greater dependence on a few suppliers
direct pressure on prices

And the Oil Produced in Brazil?

Brazil is currently one of the top 10 oil producers in the world, with emphasis on the pre-salt layer. National production is led by Petrobras, responsible for most offshore extraction.

Despite the high volume produced, Brazilian oil:

is lighter
generates higher returns on export
does not fully meet domestic diesel demand

Therefore, the country still depends on:

diesel imports
mixing different types of crude oil
variations in the international market

Why Diesel is the Most Sensitive Fuel in the Market

Diesel fuels strategic sectors such as:

cargo transportation
agriculture
industry
energy generation

When there is a shortage of heavy oil, diesel production falls, even if there is plenty of light oil. This imbalance affects:

freight costs
food prices
inflation

That’s why diesel tends to react more quickly to crises in the oil market than gasoline.

The price of fuels does not depend only on the amount of oil produced but on the type of oil available in the market. The combination of Brazilian production, the absence of Venezuelan heavy oil, and refining limitations helps explain why diesel and gasoline remain sensitive to global fluctuations.

Expensive Diesel And Unstable Gasoline: How The Type Of Oil From Venezuela, The USA, And Brazil Defines Fuel Prices

Differences in Crude Oil Explain Why Fuels Remain Expensive Even with High Production in Brazil and Help Understand the Weight of Venezuelan Heavy Oil in the Global Market.

Types of Crude Oil: The Difference That Affects Your Wallet

Venezuela Concentrates the Most Critical Oil for Diesel

And the Oil Produced in Brazil?

Why Diesel is the Most Sensitive Fuel in the Market

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Expensive Diesel And Unstable Gasoline: How The Type Of Oil From Venezuela, The USA, And Brazil Defines Fuel Prices

Differences in Crude Oil Explain Why Fuels Remain Expensive Even with High Production in Brazil and Help Understand the Weight of Venezuelan Heavy Oil in the Global Market.

Types of Crude Oil: The Difference That Affects Your Wallet

Venezuela Concentrates the Most Critical Oil for Diesel

And the Oil Produced in Brazil?

Why Diesel is the Most Sensitive Fuel in the Market

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Australia installs giant concrete structures on the seabed 800 meters from the shore to create an ocean intake for desalination that will draw in saltwater and produce 30 million liters of drinking water per day.

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While cities spend fortunes patching potholes and tons of plastic become waste, the Netherlands transforms over 218,000 recycled cups into a modular bike path that can conceal drainage, cables, and pipes.

Empty beer bottle turns into sand, and the sand turns into concrete: an American city has discovered how to recycle glass locally using a solar-powered truck that crushes five tons of bottles per day in a local circular economy project.

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