[Reading level: C1 – Advanced]
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and once supplied 7% of global output, but today it contributes less than 1%.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+)—of which Venezuela is a founding member—responded by deciding to keep oil output unchanged at its meeting on January 4. This move had been widely anticipated amid weak demand and rising global production. Since April 2025, the group has increased output by an additional 2.9 million barrels per day, equivalent to 2.7% of global supply. However, the pace of increases has slowed since October due to forecasts of potential oversupply. Analysts say OPEC+’s move aims to protect oil prices, maintain unity within the group, and buy time to assess geopolitical uncertainties in member countries.
Crude oil reserves
The latest OPEC data show that as of 2024, Venezuela’s oil reserves stood at 303 billion barrels, accounting for 17% of the global total. This figure is even larger than that of Saudi Arabia—the country that leads OPEC—which has 267 billion barrels.
Most of these reserves consist of heavy crude, concentrated in the Orinoco Belt in central Venezuela. This type of oil is costly to extract but not technically difficult, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. It is similar to the kind of crude the United States currently imports at high prices.
Countries with the largest reserves worldwide are mostly OPEC members, such as Iran, Iraq, the UAE, and Kuwait. U.S. reserves are only about 45 billion barrels, while Russia’s stand at 80 billion barrels.
Extraction and refining
Venezuela was one of the five founding members of OPEC in 1960, along with Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Together, they helped Arab countries control oil resources, shaping the global energy market and geopolitical order for decades.
In the 1970s, Venezuela produced up to 3.5 million barrels of oil per day, equivalent to 7% of global output. Fifteen years ago, it was still Latin America’s largest oil producer and even competed with the United States for influence in the region. Oil once shaped the country’s culture, generating large revenues to fund public works and enabling Venezuela to offer generous scholarship programs.
Venezuelan crude has unique physical and chemical properties, very different from the light crude found in the Middle East or the United States. Oil reserves in the Orinoco Belt are ultra-heavy crude with an API gravity below 10. API gravity measures how dense crude oil is—the lower the number, the heavier the oil. Light crudes usually have API gravities above 30.
This type of oil is often as thick as asphalt, with very high viscosity, and cannot flow through pipelines without treatment. It must be diluted with lighter crude or solvents, or pre-processed into synthetic crude before being transported from wells to ports or refineries.
Venezuelan oil entails higher costs for extraction, transport, and processing than Middle Eastern light crude, but it also has high sulfur content, making it suitable for producing diesel, asphalt, and fuel for power plants and heavy equipment. This makes it strategically important to the global refining industry. Extraction requires specialized equipment and high technical expertise. However, international oil majors with such capabilities are restricted from operating there.
Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in the 1970s, creating the state oil company PDVSA. In the 1990s, it opened the sector to foreign investment. However, in 1999, regulations again required PDVSA to hold majority stakes in all oil projects. Two U.S. oil giants—Exxon and Conoco—left Venezuela in the 2000s, and their assets were nationalized.
PDVSA lacks the capital and technology to boost production. It has had to form numerous joint ventures with foreign oil companies in hopes of improving output, including Chevron, CNPC, ENI, Total, and Rosneft.
Even so, production has continued to decline due to U.S. sanctions imposed since 2005 and chronic underinvestment in the sector. Difficulties in electricity supply have further hampered oil operations. In the 2010s, Venezuela’s oil output fell below 2 million barrels per day. Last year, it dropped to just 1.1 million barrels per day—about 1% of global output and roughly equal to production in the U.S. state of North Dakota.
PDVSA also owns large refining assets abroad, including CITGO in the United States. However, creditors are fighting for control of these assets through prolonged lawsuits in U.S. courts.
Crude oil exports
Fifteen years ago, Venezuela earned about USD 90 billion annually from oil exports. The United States was once its largest buyer, peaking at 1.4 million barrels per day in 1997—equivalent to 44% of Venezuela’s output at the time—according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). By 2018, this figure had fallen to 506,000 barrels per day as supplies of heavy crude from the United States, Mexico, and Canada surged.
Venezuelan oil exports to the United States fell to nearly zero during 2020–2022 after former President Trump imposed sanctions on PDVSA. Exports later recovered to 227,000 barrels per day last year, and averaged 140,000 barrels per day in the first ten months of 2025, as Washington allowed Chevron to continue operating joint ventures in Venezuela.
Since U.S. sanctions were imposed, China has gradually become the main buyer of Venezuelan oil. Data from analytics firm Kpler show that last year, China purchased about half of Venezuela’s oil exports—nearly 400,000 barrels per day.
Based on information from sources close to the matter, Reuters estimates that two-thirds of Venezuela’s oil shipped to China goes to private refineries there, while the remaining one-third is used by Caracas to repay large loans from Beijing.
According to preliminary estimates based on shipping activity, in November 2025 Venezuela produced 1.1 million barrels of oil per day and exported 950,000 barrels. However, U.S. measures aimed at curbing transactions by the country caused exports to fall by nearly half, to about 500,000 barrels per day.
Analysts believe that oil production and exports in Venezuela are unlikely to surge in the coming years, even if major U.S. companies invest billions of dollars as suggested by Trump. Any company seeking to return to Venezuela would still face a host of challenges, including security risks and deteriorated infrastructure.
Source: https://vnexpress.net/tiem-luc-dau-mo-cua-venezuela-lon-den-dau-5001867.html
WORD BANK:
proven /ˈpruː.vən/ (adj): đã được chứng minh
oil reserves /ɔɪl rɪˈzɝːvz/ (n): trữ lượng dầu mỏ
founding member /ˈfaʊn.dɪŋ ˈmem.bɚ/ (n): thành viên sáng lập
move /muːv/ (n): động thái
anticipate /ænˈtɪs.ə.peɪt/ [B2] (v): dự đoán, lường trước
barrel /ˈbær.əl/ (n): thùng (đơn vị đo dầu mỏ)
equivalent to /ɪˈkwɪv.ə.lənt tuː/ (adj phr): tương đương với
pace /peɪs/ (n): tốc độ, nhịp độ
unity /ˈjuː.nə.t̬i/ (n): sự đoàn kết
geopolitical /ˌdʒiː.oʊ.pəˈlɪt̬.ɪ.kəl/ (adj): thuộc địa chính trị
uncertainty /ʌnˈsɝː.t̬ən.t̬i/ (n): sự bất ổn, không chắc chắn
crude /kruːd/ (n): dầu thô
heavy crude /ˌhev.i ˈkruːd/ (n): dầu thô nặng
revenue /ˈrev.ə.nuː/ (n): doanh thu
public works /ˈpʌb.lɪk wɝːks/ (n): công trình công cộng
ultra-heavy /ˌʌl.trəˈhev.i/ (adj): siêu nặng
API gravity /ˌeɪ.piːˈaɪ ˈɡræv.ə.t̬i/ (n): chỉ số API (độ nhẹ/nặng của dầu thô)
dense /dens/ (adj): đậm đặc
asphalt /ˈæs.fɑːlt/ (n): nhựa đường
viscosity /vɪˈskɑː.sə.t̬i/ (n): độ nhớt
dilute /daɪˈluːt/ (v): pha loãng
solvent /ˈsɑːl.vənt/ (n): dung môi
synthetic /sɪnˈθet̬.ɪk/ (adj): tổng hợp, nhân tạo
well /wel/ (n): giếng (dầu)
refinery /rɪˈfaɪ.nɚ.i/ (n): nhà máy lọc dầu
entail /ɪnˈteɪl/ [C1] (v): đòi hỏi phải có, kéo theo
sulfur /ˈsʌl.fɚ/ (n): lưu huỳnh
content /ˈkɑːn.tent/ (n): hàm lượng
strategically /strəˈtiː.dʒɪ.kli/ (adv): mang tính chiến lược
technical expertise /ˈtek.nɪ.kəl ˌek.spɝːˈtiːz/ (n): trình độ chuyên môn kỹ thuật
restrict /rɪˈstrɪkt/ [B2] (v): hạn chế
hold a stake /hoʊld ə steɪk/ (v phr): nắm giữ cổ phần
asset /ˈæs.et/ (n): tài sản
nationalize /ˈnæʃ.ə.nə.laɪz/ (v): quốc hữu hóa
joint venture /ˌdʒɔɪnt ˈven.tʃɚ/ (n): liên doanh
sanction /ˈsæŋk.ʃən/ (n): lệnh trừng phạt
impose sth on sb/sth /ɪmˈpoʊz/ (v): áp đặt cái gì lên ai/cái gì
chronic underinvestment /ˈkrɑː.nɪk ˌʌn.dɚ.ɪnˈvest.mənt/ (n): tình trạng thiếu đầu tư kéo dài
hamper /ˈhæm.pɚ/ (v): cản trở
roughly /ˈrʌf.li/ (adv): xấp xỉ, khoảng chừng
creditor /ˈkred.ə.t̬ɚ/ (n): chủ nợ
prolonged /prəˈlɔːŋd/ (adj): kéo dài
lawsuit /ˈlɔː.suːt/ (n): vụ kiện
peak at /piːk æt/ (v): đạt đỉnh ở mức
surge /sɝːdʒ/ (n): sự tăng vọt
average /ˈæv.ɚ.ɪdʒ/ (v): đạt mức trung bình
aim at doing sth /eɪm æt/ (v): nhằm mục đích làm gì
curb /kɝːb/ (v): kiềm chế, hạn chế
deteriorated /dɪˈtɪr.i.ə.reɪ.t̬ɪd/ (adj): xuống cấp, suy thoái
ỦNG HỘ READ TO LEAD!
Chào bạn! Có thể bạn chưa biết, Read to Lead là một trang giáo dục phi lợi nhuận với mục đích góp phần phát triển cộng đồng người học tiếng Anh tại Việt Nam. Chúng tôi không yêu cầu người đọc phải trả bất kỳ chi phí nào để sử dụng các sản phẩm của mình để mọi người đều có cơ hội học tập tốt hơn. Tuy nhiên, nếu bạn có thể, chúng tôi mong nhận được sự hỗ trợ tài chính từ bạn để duy trì hoạt động của trang và phát triển các sản phẩm mới.
Bạn có thể ủng hộ chúng tôi qua 1 trong 2 cách dưới đây.
– Cách 1: Chuyển tiền qua tài khoản Momo.
Số điện thoại 0947.886.865 (Chủ tài khoản: Nguyễn Tiến Trung)
Nội dung chuyển tiền: Ủng hộ Read to Lead
hoặc
– Cách 2: Chuyển tiền qua tài khoản ngân hàng.
Ngân hàng VIB chi nhánh Hải Phòng
Số tài khoản: 012704060048394 (Chủ tài khoản: Nguyễn Tiến Trung)
Nội dung chuyển tiền: Ủng hộ Read to Lead
Lớp luyện thi IELTS online
Bạn đang có nhu cầu thi chứng chỉ IELTS cho đầu vào đại học, đi du học, xin việc hay xin cư trú và đang phân vân chưa biết học ở đâu?
Nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm dịch vụ luyện thi IELTS online với giáo viên uy tín và chất lượng, cũng như học phí phải chăng, thì thầy Trung và Cô Thủy (Admin và dịch giả chính của Read to Lead) có thể là một lựa chọn phù hợp dành cho bạn.
Hãy liên hệ (nhắn tin) tới trang Facebook cá nhân của mình (https://www.facebook.com/nguyen.trung.509) để tìm hiểu về lớp học và được tư vấn cũng như được học thử nha!
