Venezuelan Oil Reserve Size Revealed in Large Figures

US Takes Control of Venezuela’s Oil Reserves

The US government has assumed direct control of selling millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil, following the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro last month. Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world, estimated at 303 billion barrels.

To put this number into perspective, if all of Venezuela’s oil were stored in a single cylindrical tank, it would rise approximately 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) into the sky and have a diameter of 6.2 kilometers (nearly 4 miles). This is roughly equivalent to covering half of Manhattan.

In comparison, global proven oil reserves total about 1.73 trillion barrels, with Venezuela holding roughly one-fifth of these reserves. To further illustrate this, if Michigan Stadium were filled with Venezuela’s oil from the field to the bleachers, its reserves would fill approximately 64,000 of them.

Venezuelan oil is considered extra heavy crude, which is highly viscous and dense, making it more difficult and expensive to extract than conventional crude. Refining this oil requires advanced techniques, particularly in the US states of Texas and Louisiana.

A barrel of crude oil contains 159 liters or 42 gallons, and once refined, a barrel typically produces about 73 liters or 19.35 gallons of petrol. If all of Venezuela’s crude oil were refined into petrol, it could supply US vehicles for roughly 40 years at current consumption rates.

The price of Venezuelan crude is currently trading within the range of $60 to $70 per barrel, with a total value of approximately $13.6 trillion if sold at $45 per barrel, $15.15 trillion at $50 per barrel, and $16.66 trillion at $55 per barrel.

Source: Al Jazeera