Oil jumps 10% on Iran conflict
www.channelnewsasia.com

... Brent crude jumped 10 per cent to about US$80 a barrel over the counter on Sunday (Mar 1), oil traders said, while analysts predicted that prices could climb as high as US$100 after United States and Israeli strikes on Iran plunged the Middle East into a new war. ...

Attack on Iran Could Disrupt Global Fertilizer Markets
www.agriculture.com

... Agri-Pulse's Kim Chipman and Oliver Ward reported that "a prolonged military conflict in the Middle East could potentially upend key commodity markets due to Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important trade routes.

America's crop growers could see fresh price spikes for inputs like fertilizer while battling a multi-year downturn in profitability, experts warned ahead of the attack."

"Prior to the attack over the weekend, certain fertilizer prices were near historic highs for this time of year, said Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer at StoneX," Chipman and Ward reported.

"A military conflict 'could be devastating' for the global nitrogen and phosphate markets, Linville said in a note late last week prior to strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel.

'If that strait shuts down, the world will focus on oil/gas/energy impacts, however, it would have a massive impact on nitrogen and phosphate values,' he said." ...

www.aljazeera.com

... According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), about 20 million barrels of oil transited through the Strait of Hormuz each day in 2024. ...

www.forbes.com

... How much Venezuelan oil is produced daily?
About 860,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November of 2025, according to the International Energy Agency ...

Q2. What kind of oil exists in Venezuela?

Heavy and sour crude oil is what it's called (and much of it is extra-heavy or tar-like). Heavy means more dense, and sour means a high content of sulfur which damages insides of metal pipes.Some of this requires extra processing to become light enough for transport. The U.S. imports heavy oil because some of its refineries on the Gulf Coast were designed to take heavy oil.

Q3. Is this heavy, sour oil hard to produce?

Yes. Primary production in the Orinoco Belt relies on reservoir pressure driving oil into vertical wells or wells with horizontal extensions of 3,000 " 6,000 feet. But this is limited because it can only recover 8% - 12% of the original oil. Secondary and tertiary recovery methods are needed. Although more difficult, they can lead to 20% recovery, or even higher.

Secondary recovery includes waterflooding or gas injection which includes huff-and-puff mode. Diluents, such as naptha or light oil, are needed to lower viscosity so the oil can flow easier through wells and pipes. ...