Venezuela to take Saudis in oil reserves

Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves of any
state member of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries outside the Middle East.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=134621§ionid=3510213


Venezuela will replace Saudi Arabia's as the country with the biggest certified crude oil reserves when registering the oil deposits in the Orinoco Belt is completed.

"We hope to end 2010 with the incorporation of (another) 105 billion barrels of proven reserves. With this achievement, Venezuela would become the country with the biggest certified crude reserves (316 billion barrels) on the planet," the Venezuelan government said in an official statement on Tuesday.

Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves among OPEC member states outside the Middle East. But proven oil reserves in Saudi Arabia, estimated to be at 267 billion barrels, are the largest in the world.

This is about one-fifth of the world's total conventional oil reserves. One of the most important advantages of Saudi Arabia's reserves is that its oil is mostly light, conventional and easily-pumped crude, according to Reuters.

The necessary technology to extract the ultra-heavy crude from the Orinoco Belt is much more complicated and expensive than light oil machinery.

However, according to the recent analyses, the world's reserves of light oil are ending and the oil companies seek more difficult production areas like the Orinoco Belt.