Kathmandu. The United States has announced military action against South American drug cartels. Many U.S. warships and maritime patrol aircraft are moving along the maritime borders of South American countries.
On September 2, the U.S. Navy also launched a missile attack on a Venezuelan boat. Eleven Venezuelans were killed in the attack. Us President Donald Trump later announced that the Venezuelan boat was full of drugs.
Relations between the U.S. and Venezuela have been strained since then. However, this is not the first time that relations between the two countries have deteriorated so much. Venezuela has a complex relationship with the United States. Which has been affected by oil, politics and security disputes.
How much oil is there in Venezuela?
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Al Jazeera reported. Despite this, the country is able to earn only a little money from crude oil exports.
Venezuela had an estimated 303 billion barrels of oil reserves by 2023. Saudi Arabia is second on the list with 267.2 barrels. It is followed by Iran with 208.6 barrels and Canada with 163.6 barrels. Together, these four countries account for more than half of global oil reserves.
Venezuela has five times more oil than the U.S.
By comparison, the U.S. has about 55 billion barrels of oil. For this reason, the United States ranks ninth in the list of countries with proven oil reserves in the world. That means Venezuela’s reserves are five times higher than U.S. reserves. Despite this, Venezuela is one of the world’s poorest countries. The country does not earn even a fifth of America’s oil revenue.
Why venezuelan crude oil is sold at a lower price?
Venezuela’s oil reserves are mainly located in the Orinoco belt. This area is a vast area spread over about 55,000 square kilometers (21,235 square miles) in eastern Venezuela. Heavy crude oil is also found in this belt. Which is very smooth and has a high density. However, it is much more difficult and expensive to extract than conventional oil. To make it saleable, advanced technologies are needed to produce oil in this region.
Due to the high density and sulfur content in Venezuela’s crude oil, this oil is sold at a lower price than the crude oil of other countries.
Venezuela behind in oil production
Venezuela’s oil production is dominated by the state-owned company Petroleos de Venezuela SA. This company produces and manages most of the oil in the Orinoco belt. However, the company faces problems due to its outdated infrastructure, low investment, mismanagement and international sanctions. Because of this, Venezuela has not been able to use its vast oil reserves to its full potential.
How much oil does Venezuela export?
Venezuela exported only $4.05 billion worth of crude oil in 2023, according to data from the Observer of Economic Complexity (OEC). That’s much lower than other major exporters, including Saudi Arabia ($4,181 billion), the U.S. ($4,125 billion) and Russia ($4,122 billion). In addition to crude oil, Venezuela also exports small amounts of petroleum products, such as petrol and diesel.
