Here’s what to know about Venezuela’s oil industry in five charts

President Donald Trump said Saturday the U.S. would tap into Venezuela’s oil reserves following President Nicolás Maduro’s capture. Trump wants U.S. oil companies to invest in Venezuela’s oil industry, which holds the largest crude oil reserves in the world. The country has about 303 billion barrels of crude, roughly a fifth of the world’s oil reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Get the Facts Data Team compiled data to explain the state of Venezuela’s oil industry and what it means for the U.S. Which countries have the highest oil reserves?Oil reserves refer to estimates of crude oil underground that can be recovered in the future, according to the EIA. Behind Venezuela, Saudi Arabia has the second-highest amount of reserves at 267 billion, about 12% less than Venezuela. The U.S. has about 74 billion barrels of crude oil reserves.How much oil does the U.S. import from Venezuela? The U.S. doesn’t import as much oil from Venezuela as it did in prior decades. At its peak, the U.S. imported 61.7 thousand barrels of crude in Oct. 1997. That figure has since dropped to 4.2 thousand barrels, a decline of about 93%. Imports of Venezuelan crude oil fell sharply in 2019 after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA. Those sanctions were later eased in Nov. 2022, when the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control granted waivers to Chevron, allowing it to resume exporting crude from its joint venture operations in Venezuela to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.The country accounts for about 1% of the crude oil the U.S. imports. Canada supplies 51% of the crude oil the U.S. imports, roughly 4.4 thousand barrels per day. Which countries import Venezuela oil?China imports the majority of Venezuela’s oil. In 2023, China accounted for 68% of imports. The U.S. imported the second highest at 23%. From 2019 to 2023, Venezuela exported more heavy-sour oil than any other type of oil. Heavy-sour oils contain high sulfur content, requiring more processing to remove the sulfur. Venezuela exported about 781.5 thousand barrels per day of heavy-sour in 2019. In 2023, that number dropped to about 617.6 thousand barrels per day.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=

WASHINGTON —

President Donald Trump said Saturday the U.S. would tap into Venezuela’s oil reserves following President Nicolás Maduro’s capture.

Trump wants U.S. oil companies to invest in Venezuela’s oil industry, which holds the largest crude oil reserves in the world. The country has about 303 billion barrels of crude, roughly a fifth of the world’s oil reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The Get the Facts Data Team compiled data to explain the state of Venezuela’s oil industry and what it means for the U.S.

Which countries have the highest oil reserves?

Oil reserves refer to estimates of crude oil underground that can be recovered in the future, according to the EIA.

Behind Venezuela, Saudi Arabia has the second-highest amount of reserves at 267 billion, about 12% less than Venezuela.

The U.S. has about 74 billion barrels of crude oil reserves.

How much oil does the U.S. import from Venezuela?

The U.S. doesn’t import as much oil from Venezuela as it did in prior decades. At its peak, the U.S. imported 61.7 thousand barrels of crude in Oct. 1997. That figure has since dropped to 4.2 thousand barrels, a decline of about 93%.

Imports of Venezuelan crude oil fell sharply in 2019 after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA.

Those sanctions were later eased in Nov. 2022, when the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control granted waivers to Chevron, allowing it to resume exporting crude from its joint venture operations in Venezuela to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.

The country accounts for about 1% of the crude oil the U.S. imports.

Canada supplies 51% of the crude oil the U.S. imports, roughly 4.4 thousand barrels per day.

Which countries import Venezuela oil?

China imports the majority of Venezuela’s oil. In 2023, China accounted for 68% of imports. The U.S. imported the second highest at 23%.

From 2019 to 2023, Venezuela exported more heavy-sour oil than any other type of oil. Heavy-sour oils contain high sulfur content, requiring more processing to remove the sulfur.

Venezuela exported about 781.5 thousand barrels per day of heavy-sour in 2019. In 2023, that number dropped to about 617.6 thousand barrels per day.