Venezuela possesses the largest proven oil reserves in the world, estimated at more than 300 billion barrels, roughly 17% of global reserves. Most of it lies in the vast Orinoco Belt, one of the biggest hydrocarbon deposits on Earth. Yet despite this natural wealth, Venezuela’s oil industry has collapsed.
Production once peaked at 3.5 million barrels per day in the 1960s and 1970s, when U.S. and British companies dominated the sector. Today, output hovers around 960,000 barrels per day, less than 1% of global supply, with much of it exported to China.
The decline accelerated under President Nicolás Maduro, following years of corruption, mismanagement, underinvestment, worker exodus, and U.S. sanctions. Venezuela’s heavy crude also requires imported diluents to process — materials made scarce by sanctions — further choking output.
President Donald Trump now wants to revive and effectively control Venezuela’s oil industry, arguing it serves U.S. energy and security interests. While the U.S. is the world’s top oil producer, it lacks sufficient heavy crude, which is essential for aging Gulf Coast refineries. Venezuelan oil fits that need.
However, rebuilding the industry would be enormously expensive. Analysts estimate it would cost $115 billion just to double production by the early 2030s. Venezuela’s unstable politics, corruption, armed militias, and weak property protections make it a risky bet for major oil firms.
As The Economist notes, while Maduro’s removal was swift, the economic payoff from Venezuela’s oil is likely to be slow, uncertain, and costly.
