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Venezuelan oil, Orinoco Belt
Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela8.35°N 62.64°W
computed criticality10/100
reading
World's largest proved reserves (~303 billion bbl); production collapsed to ~0.9-1.0 Mb/d (2024-2025) vs ~3.4 Mb/d in 1998
2024Fault line
Venezuela holds the world's largest crude reserves, but an extra-heavy crude that is hard to refine and an industry gutted by sanctions and underinvestment. A would-be giant reduced to a fraction of its capacity, proof that a reserve is not production.
Actors
PDVSA
Chevron (licences)
Sources