65 BILLION BARRELS SECURED. GAS STILL $4.08 A GALLON

🔴 Gas is $4.08 a gallon and a 65-billion-barrel deal will not change that this year.

CNBC reports that President Trump announced Friday the U.S. secured majority control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's proven oil reserves, roughly 20% of the 303 billion barrels the country is believed to hold. He said the deal would "substantially lower gas prices for all Americans, long into the future."

Energy analysts told CNBC the math does not work on that timeline.

Venezuela currently produces around 1.2 million barrels a day, down from a peak of 3.5 million in the late 1990s. Rystad Energy estimated in January that returning to peak would take about $180 billion of investment through 2040. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the deal brings nearly $100 billion in private sector investment.

The terms have not been published. "We're really still operating on Tweets and rumors," said David Goldwyn, a former State Department energy envoy. He said the Orinoco Belt fields, where most of the reserves sit, have little or no infrastructure and would take five to seven years at best to deliver supply.

Export terminals are already a bottleneck. Analyst Andy Lipow said tankers wait up to 30 days to load crude because of ageing infrastructure and power outages at ports.

Meanwhile at the pump: $4.08 nationwide Monday, nearly 30% higher than a year ago, per AAA. GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan says a record Labor Day average is all but locked in. The old record was $3.83 in 2012.

Chevron is the only major U.S. oil company active there, at 280,000 bpd after 15% growth this year.

What are you paying at the pump right now?

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