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Following the abduction of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro past week, the medication of US President Donald Trump has stated that it wants to rapidly reconstruct the country’s lipid accumulation and grow its mining sector.
“You person steel, you person minerals, each the captious minerals, they person large mining past that’s gone rusty,” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters connected Sunday from aboard Air Force One. “President Trump is going to hole it and bring it back.”
So, what reserves and resources does Venezuela have?
Largest known lipid reserves
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven lipid reserves, estimated astatine 303 cardinal barrels arsenic of 2023, much than 5 times the magnitude the United States has, which is 55.25 cardinal barrels.
Venezuela is besides 1 of the founding members of OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), having established the radical successful Baghdad successful September 1960 alongside Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
(Al Jazeera)Venezuela’s lipid reserves are concentrated chiefly successful the Orinoco Belt, a immense portion successful the eastbound portion of the state stretching crossed astir 55,000 quadrate kilometres (21,235 quadrate miles), which is controlled by Venezuela’s state-owned lipid company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
The Orinoco Belt holds extra-heavy crude oil, which is highly viscous and dense, making it overmuch harder and much costly to extract than accepted crude oil. As a result, it typically sells astatine a discount compared to lighter, sweeter crudes, specified arsenic those extracted from US shale.
Refining lipid from this portion requires precocious techniques that the US possesses, peculiarly successful the states of Texas and Louisiana.
Who buys Venezuelan oil?
Venezuela was erstwhile a large lipid exporter. In the precocious 1990s and aboriginal 2000s, it supplied astir 1.5 to 2 cardinal barrels per time to the United States, making it 1 of the US’s largest overseas lipid sources.
However, governmental instability, mismanagement astatine PDVSA, a deficiency of investment, and US sanctions connected the country’s vigor manufacture person led to falling production.
In 2024, Venezuela produced an mean of 952,000 barrels per time (bpd), compared to 783,000 bpd successful 2023, according to PDVSA’s results arsenic reported by OPEC. PDVSA’s lipid income overseas successful 2024 amounted to $17.52bn, according to a Reuters report.
China is the largest purchaser of Venezuelan crude lipid and has been for the past decade. In November 2025, earlier the US subject blockade began successful December, Venezuela exported 952,000 barrels per day.
Of this, 778,000 barrels were sent to China, giving Beijing an 81.7 percent stock of Venezuela’s lipid exports. The US is the second-largest buyer, importing 15.8 percent of Venezuelan oil; followed by Cuba, which imported astir 2.5 percent.
Natural gas
Venezuela ranks ninth successful the satellite for earthy state reserves.
According to the International Energy Agency, arsenic of 2023, Venezuela’s state deposits totalled astir 5.5 trillion cubic metres (195 trillion cubic feet), accounting for 73 percent of the full earthy state reserves successful South America.
Most of these reserves are linked to crude oil, with astir 80 percent of produced earthy state being a byproduct of lipid production.
Vehicles thrust past the El Palito lipid refinery successful Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, connected Sunday, December 21, 2025 [Matias Delacroix/AP Photo]Gold
Venezuela possesses the largest authoritative golden reserves successful Latin America.
According to the World Gold Council, which monitors cardinal slope holdings globally, Venezuela’s reserves are astir 161.2 metric tonnes, worthy much than $23bn successful today’s marketplace value.
Venezuela is besides believed to clasp immoderate of the astir important untapped golden resources, but authoritative information is outdated.
In 2011, erstwhile President Hugo Chavez announced the Orinoco Mining Arc, which would explore, nationalise and export metals. In February 2016, Maduro acceptable retired to further make the area, with 12 percent of the state marked for mining crossed respective states. The authorities said determination were diamonds, nickel, coltan and copper reserves that it would mine.
In 2018, Maduro announced a “Gold Plan” to promote concern successful golden aft signing mining deals with a fig of overseas companies worthy an estimated $5.5bn. However, nary of these deals materialised, and astir mines person remained nether the power of non-state equipped groups.
A 2018 mineral study by Venezuela’s Ministry of Ecological Mining Development estimated that the state holds astatine slightest 644 metric tonnes of gold, but the Venezuelan authorities has stated that the existent numbers could beryllium overmuch higher.
What different minerals does Venezuela have?
The 2018 minerals catalog estimated:
- Certified ember reserves of astir 3 cardinal metric tonnes
- 14.68 cardinal metric tonnes of robust ore, of which 3.6 cardinal are proven
- 407,885 metric tonnes of nickel reserves
- Measured bauxite amounting to 99.4 cardinal metric tonnes
- Reported reserves of diamonds amounting to 1,020 cardinal carats successful the Orinoco Mining Arc and 275 cardinal carats unsocial successful the country of Guanaimo
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