Reserves

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves but its crude output remains at a fraction of capacity due to mismanagement, lack of investment and sanctions, official data shows.

Venezuela holds about 17 percent of global reserves or 303 billion barrels, ahead of OPEC leader Saudi Arabia, according to the London-based Energy Institute.

Its reserves are made up mostly of heavy oil in Orinoco in central Venezuela, making its crude expensive to produce, but technically relatively simple, according to the US government's energy department.

Production

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Venezuela was a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and was producing as much as 3.5 million barrels per day in the 1970s, which at the time represented over 7 percent of global oil output.

Production fell below 2 million bpd during 2010s and averaged some 1.1 million bpd last year.

"If developments ultimately lead to a genuine regime change, this could even result in more oil on the market over time. However, it will take time for production to recover fully," said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen from Global Risk Management.

If regime change is successful, Venezuela's exports could grow as sanctions are lifted and foreign investment returns, said MST Marquee analyst Saul Kavonic.

“History shows that forced regime change rarely stabilizes oil supply quickly, with Libya and Iraq offering clear and sobering precedents," said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy.

Joint ventures

Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in the 1970s, creating Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).

During the 1990s, Venezuela took steps to open the sector to foreign investment. Following the election of Hugo Chavez in 1999, Venezuela mandated majority PDVSA ownership of all oil projects.

PDVSA set up ventures in the hope of boosting production, including with Chevron, China National Petroleum Corporation, ENI, Total and Russia's Rosneft.

Exports, refining

The United States used to be the main buyer of Venezuelan oil but since the introduction of sanctions, China has become the main destination in the last decade.

Exports have stopped since Trump announced a blockade of all vessels entering or leaving the country in December 2025.

PDVSA also owns significant refining capacity outside the country, including CITGO in the United States, but creditors are battling to gain control of it through longstanding legal cases in US courts.

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