Venezuela’s proven crude-oil reserves surpassed those of Saudi Arabia in 2010, making the country the world’s largest oil-reserves holder, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its annual statistical bulletin.
Venezuela’s proven crude reserves reached 296.5 billion barrels in 2010, up 40% from a year earlier and higher than Saudi Arabia’s 264.5 billion barrels, OPEC said.
The increase, together with gains by Iran and Iraq, may in the long run empower members of OPEC that favour defending higher prices. But there are doubts about whether all of Venezuela’s heavy-oil discoveries are economically viable.
The data broadly confirmVenezuela’s statements that it had reached this reserves level in January, though OPEC normally relies on its members’ assessments for its statistical data.
Iraq’s proven reserves were upgraded by 24% to 143.1 billion barrels andIran’s by 10% to 151.2 billion barrels, roughly in line with both countries’ earlier disclosures.
Venezuela, Iran and Iraq were part of a group that refused to endorse a Saudi-led push to raise output at a bitter June 8 OPEC meeting.
Analysts have questioned how economic Venezuelan reserves could be because most are from the heavy and extra-heavy oil in the Orinoco Belt, which is difficult and expensive to extract.
In addition,Venezuela’s statistics have long been a controversial topic in oil circles, though disagreements on the matter have recently eased. The International Energy Agency last month said it revised the method used to calculateVenezuela’s oil-production figures, bringing its estimates closer to those of Caracas.
The set of statistics may also bolsterIran’s claims that sanctions aren’t crippling its oil and gas industry’s development.
Last year, the European Union implemented stringent sanctions againstIranthat don’t ban crude purchases but complicate them by putting restrictions on the insurance, financial services and energy sectors.
But crude-oil exports from the Islamic republic toEuropein 2010 rose 35% to 764,000 barrels a day on average. Overall, Iranian oil exports rose 0.7% with exports toAsiaand the Pacific falling 11%. Iranian natural-gas reserves and exports rose 12% and 49% respectively.
The numbers also underscore the recovery of the Nigerian oil industry, with 17 more rigs active in the West African nation and 437 additional producing wells, following amnesty for militants in 2009.
Overall, the numbers show that OPEC members strongly benefited from higher oil prices in 2010, with the total value of their petroleum exports having risen 27% to $745.1 billion and their overall gross domestic product having climbed 11% to $2.3 trillion.
