By comparison, the U.S. — the world's largest oil producer — churns out 13.5 billion barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration. Saudi Arabia, the world's No. 2 oil exporter and leading OPEC producer, pumps an estimated 10 million to 12 million barrels, while No. 3 Russia produces 9.4 million.
Francisco J. Monaldi, director of the Latin America energy program at Rice University, predicted it would take at least a decade — and investments of more than $100 billion — to rebuild Venezuela's oil infrastructure and lift production to 4 million barrels per day, which is well above its historical production levels.
But doesn't Venezuela have more oil in the ground?
Yes, Venezuela is estimated to have the world's largest proven oil reserves, with more than 303 billion barrels — that represents roughly 17% of the total global oil supply, OPEC data shows.
“The bottom line is that the size of the reserves is only paralleled by the ones in the Middle East, in the Persian Gulf and Canada's reserves,” Monaldi told CBS News.
Venezuela's reserves top second-ranked Saudi Arabia's 267 billion barrels, and are more than six times the U.S.’s reserves. Most of Venezuela's untapped oil is located in what is known as the Orinoco Belt, a roughly 21,000-square-mile area that stretches across the country's northeastern region.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venezuela-oil-reserves-us-strike-trump-what-to-know/%2Fcloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com%2Freuters%2FRY4SYAD3MJLJNGJNQKMPNOL74Y.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=44c5c6caffa110421a54154936971f98bbfc36233d6c352244326f9042ddbf75)
Gotta wonder if its time for the landman to fly out to Venezuela
