Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves on earth. Topping 300 billion barrels of proven reserves, not including the Orinoco Belt which consists of massive deposits of extra heavy crude, amounting to more than a trillion barrels of oil.
In October 2007, the Venezuelan government said its proven oil reserves was 100 billion barrels.
In February 2008, Venezuela’s proven oil reserves were 172 billion barrels.
By 2009, Venezuela reported 211.17 billion barrels of conventional oil reserves, the largest of any country in South America. The same year, the US Geological Survey increased the estimated reserves to 513 billion barrels of oil that are technically recoverable, using currently available technology and industry practices.
By the end of 2015, Venezuela’s confirmed oil reserves were estimated above 300 billion barrels.
These proven reserves do not include the Orinoco Belt, consisting of large deposits of extra heavy crude that could be more than 1.2 trillion barrels. The Venezuelan state oil company has estimated that the Orinoco Belt has an additional 235 billion barrels of recoverable oil, slightly ahead of the Athabasca oil sands, a similar unconventional oil source.
Image: Image adapted from: “OIL” by CHRISTOPHER DOMBRES is in the Public Domain
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