Venezuela Much Safer Without Maduro, Hamm Says

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 15, 2026 at 15:14  |  5:22  |  Bloomberg Markets
Speakers
Harold Hamm — Founder and Chairman, Continental Resources

Summary

Harold Hamm, founder and chairman of Continental Resources, discusses Venezuela's oil opportunities after Nicolás Maduro's removal, saying the country has huge resources but still carries nationalization and geopolitical risks. He argues low crude prices are self-correcting and that Venezuelan extra-heavy crude will be slow to develop, limiting the risk to U.S. shale.

  • Harold Hamm says Venezuela is safer without Maduro and has significant oil resources.
  • He says oil companies need security guarantees before investing in Venezuela due to nationalization risk.
  • Hamm notes Exxon was nationalized twice in Venezuela and car companies also suffered.
  • He believes low oil prices are self-correcting because production below cost is unsustainable.
  • Hamm recommends refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve while crude is cheap.
  • He says Venezuela's heavy bitumen crude requires upgrading and diluent, so output will ramp slowly.
  • He sees limited risk that Venezuelan supply will hurt U.S. shale in the near or medium term.
Ideas
Harold Hamm Founder and Chairman, Continental Resources 0:37
Venezuela oil opportunity requires security guarantees.
Hamm says Venezuela has enormous oil resources and is much safer after Maduro's removal, making it an attractive long-term opportunity that Continental is assessing. However, he stresses major geopolitical and nationalization risks—Exxon was nationalized twice and car companies were burned—so oil companies need security guarantees before committing capital, and the extra-heavy crude is slow and costly to develop.
Venezuelan crude MED
Harold Hamm Founder and Chairman, Continental Resources 2:41
Low crude prices eventually cure themselves.
Hamm argues that low crude prices are self-correcting: cheap oil eventually forces supply discipline because producers cannot produce below cost, bringing prices back to sustainable levels. He also favors government storage and SPR refilling while crude is cheap, which would support demand.
WTI MED
Harold Hamm Founder and Chairman, Continental Resources 4:25
Venezuela supply unlikely to hurt US shale.
Hamm downplays the risk that Venezuelan oil development will hurt U.S. shale, arguing that Venezuela's output will come on very slowly because its extra-heavy bitumen/tar crude needs upgrading and diluent/condensate blending. Therefore, the competitive supply threat to American crude is lower than many imagine.
XOP MED
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This Bloomberg Markets video, published January 15, 2026, features Harold Hamm discussing Venezuelan crude, WTI, XOP. 3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Harold Hamm  · Tickers: Venezuelan crude, WTI, XOP