{"id":401569,"date":"2026-01-11T01:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T01:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/401569\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T01:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T01:09:10","slug":"venezuelas-303bn-barrels-overshadow-africas-nine-largest-oil-producers-with-113bn-barrels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/401569\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela\u2019s 303bn barrels overshadow Africa\u2019s nine largest oil producers with 113bn barrels"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n        This dramatic gap highlights a broader global contrast between underground oil wealth and actual production.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Venezuela\u2019s reserve base, concentrated mainly in the Orinoco Belt, represents roughly <a href=\"https:\/\/africa.businessinsider.com\/politics\/here-are-the-countries-with-the-most-oil-reserves-and-where-venezuela-ranks\/959dh1z\" id=\"b172cd76-97c0-4ed7-a428-5f6e71f646fc\" data-link-role-code=\"open_new_tab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">17\u201318\u202fpercent of global proven reserves,<\/a> while African producers such as Libya, Nigeria and Algeria together make up a much smaller share.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Yet despite its enormous resource base, Venezuela\u2019s oil production remains subdued, reflecting years of mismanagement, deteriorating infrastructure and international sanctions.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Once pumping more than 3\u202fmillion barrels per day (bpd) in the late 1990s and early 2000s, <a href=\"https:\/\/africa.businessinsider.com\/local\/markets\/why-africas-unity-is-key-to-escaping-dollar-control-after-us-venezuela-saga-nigeria\/r7pfecl\" id=\"3e2daee3-da45-4ef4-b313-d5cd819720b1\" data-link-role-code=\"open_new_tab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">output has declined sharply<\/a>. In 2025, production was estimated at roughly 900,000\u20131.1\u202fmillion\u202fbpd, a fraction of its potential and a tiny share of global supply.\n    <\/p>\n<p>        US\u2013Venezuela oil dispute shapes geopolitics<\/p>\n<p>\n        The gap between reserves and output has become a flashpoint in global politics.\n    <\/p>\n<p>                    <img width=\"790\" height=\"593\" alt=\"Law enforcement officials move captured Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro at Downtown Manhattan Heliport.Adam Gray\/REUTERS\" title=\"Law enforcement officials move captured Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro at Downtown Manhattan Heliport.Adam Gray\/REUTERS\" class=\"image lazyloaded imgWithMetaData\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'593'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-original=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/AClktkuTURBXy9kMmMzYmQ3YS1hNjZkLTQwOTYtYTM2OS1iMDhiYmI0ZjM4ZDYuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>\n        Officials argue the moves are designed to curb illicit trade and deprive adversaries of heavy crude supplies, even as legal and geopolitical tensions rise.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Trump has also signaled an intent to leverage Venezuelan oil assets for US and allied benefit, with discussions involving major American oil companies about revitalising production infrastructure and <a href=\"https:\/\/africa.businessinsider.com\/local\/markets\/libya-posts-decade-high-crude-output-in-2025-solidifying-top-african-producer-status\/fttnfzh\" id=\"1970a649-e389-4ec2-9e0b-325b0b930ccc\" data-link-role-code=\"open_new_tab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">potentially increasing output to global markets<\/a>.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Chevron, for example, has been identified as a possible leader in rebuilding Venezuelan production capacity, contingent on approvals and regulatory conditions.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Despite its towering resource advantage, Venezuela\u2019s oil industry illustrates a critical energy paradox: immense reserves do not guarantee equivalent production or global market influence without investment, stability and unfettered access to markets, factors that have long restrained its full potential relative to both African producers and global peers.\n    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This dramatic gap highlights a broader global contrast between underground oil wealth and actual production. Venezuela\u2019s reserve base,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[45,49,48,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-401569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}