Left Investment Bank 2006. Launched BankToTheFuture 2010. Spoke at 1st Bitcoin conference & published 1st #Bitcoin# book 2011. Angel Investor 100+ #BTC# Companies
🇻🇪 FOLLOW THE MONEY - VENEZUELA, HOUTHIS, SAUDI ARABIA & MULTIPOLARITY
The deeper you go into Venezuela, the more interesting the capital structure becomes
At the centre is Alejandro Betancourt and his family-controlled NABEP
NABEP gets 17 Venezuelan oil fields containing approximately 65bn barrels of stated proven reserves
The US government gets a protected 35% economic interest, the right to buy 20% of production at cost and first refusal on the remaining 80%
The Betancourt family retains private control
Now add the other nodes
🇨🇳 CHINA
Several fields moving into NABEP were previously operated by Chinese companies
China is defending existing creditor & commercial rights
🇷🇺 RUSSIA
Russian state-owned Roszarubezhneft reportedly retains 40% of Petromonagas while Exxon negotiates around the same project
🇺🇸 CHEVRON
Chevron never left Venezuela, but its position has just expanded dramatically, with $7bn+ investment planned targeting approximately 600k barrels/day
Now follow the oil
🇸🇦 SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Aramco owns Motiva in Texas, home to America’s largest refinery
Aramco Trading Americas has already bought Venezuelan heavy crude from Chevron for Motiva
Venezuela, Chevron, Saudi state-owned refining capacity in Texas
Now add Yemen
🇾🇪 THE HOUTHIS
US officials just met Houthi representatives in Oman
Reuters reports the Houthis reaffirmed their ceasefire with Washington and said they would not attack US or Israeli ships or other commercial vessels, except Saudi-owned vessels
The Houthis have also publicly said Red Sea navigation is safe for everyone except Saudi vessels
So right now they are allowing Israeli shipping through while targeting Saudi shipping and claiming attacks against Aramco infrastructure around Yanbu
Yanbu is the Red Sea outlet of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, increasingly important when Hormuz is constrained
At the same time Saudi Aramco owns America’s largest refinery and is already buying Venezuelan crude through Chevron
🇮🇱 ISRAEL-ALIGNED PRIVATE CAPITAL
CITGO owns three major US refineries capable of processing Venezuelan heavy crude
Its court-supervised sale was won by Amber Energy, backed by Paul Singer’s Elliott
Singer is a major Trump-aligned political donor and financier of pro-Israel political influence, including AIPAC’s United Democracy Project
This is not Israeli state ownership
It is private capital using political influence around the Israeli node while pursuing its own economic interests elsewhere
Now zoom out
🇨🇳 Chinese state interests defend Chinese claims
🇷🇺 Russian state capital retains Venezuelan oil equity
🇸🇦 Saudi state capital owns US refining capacity already taking Venezuelan crude
🇺🇸 The US state gets economics, governance rights & preferential oil access through NABEP while private interests retain control
🇾🇪 The Houthis negotiate with Washington while allowing Israeli shipping through and targeting Saudi shipping and infrastructure
🇮🇱 Israel-aligned political influence overlaps with private capital positioned downstream
This is multipolarity
Countries are nodes
Political ideologies mobilise support around those nodes
But neither tells you where the economic benefit ultimately lands
The Military Industrial Complex (MIC) provides power
The Financial Industrial Complex (FIC) structures, finances, trades & owns the economic claims
FIC is GLOBAL
So here’s what I’m watching:
Who finances NABEP?
Does Aramco start buying Venezuelan crude directly?
Does Motiva increase Venezuelan purchases while Saudi infrastructure remains under pressure?
What happens to Russia’s 40% of Petromonagas?
How are China’s claims treated?
Where does Chevron’s expanding production go?
Who ultimately controls CITGO?
And how do Venezuelan oil flows change while the US-Houthi understanding keeps non-Saudi shipping moving but Saudi shipping remains targeted?
Watch the contracts
Watch the financing
Watch the tankers
Watch the ownership
Follow the money