Venezuela oil deal raises trouble not capital

Given all these questions and challenges, it’s hard to see why Western oil companies would be interested. Chevron has stayed in Venezuela, and should produce about 280,000 barrels per day this year. It is also already poised to unveil a new and completely unrelated agreement to increase output substantially.

Others, including ExxonMobil, have been cooler on the country. In January, boss Darren Woods called it "uninvestable." Oil is easier and cheaper to pump in other places. A vague, flimsy and imperialistic arrangement for expensive, hard-to-reach, low-quality crude isn't much to crow about.

One of the biggest oil deals ever is not especially artful. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States would take control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan reserves. Details are sparse, but there's enough to significantly discount its political, legal and economic viability. Absent some crafty fine print that persuades industry titans to invest $100 billion, there's probably very little to the bold pronouncement.