Why You Should Be Skeptical About Venezuela's Oil Reserves

18 Jan 2026 | Abstracted from Forbes

Venezuela's huge "proven" reserves mostly reflect reclassification of the Orinoco Belt's extra‑heavy crude, which is costly, infrastructure‑dependent, and only viable at high prices. Much of the oil is technically present but not economically recoverable. Aging upgraders, price sensitivity, and political incentives mean the 300‑billion‑barrel figure overstates what can actually be produced.

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