2.34 AM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

Venezuela oil reserves top in Opec

Published
By Reuters

Saudi Arabia ceased to be the world’s oil superpower after it was overtaken by Venezuela as having the largest proven crude reserves at the end of 2010, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The surge in Venezuela’s extractable oil deposits allied with large increases in the Gulf states of Iran and Iraq to boost the 12-nation OPEC’s total crude resources by nearly 129 billion barrels and expand its share of the world’s proven oil wealth to 81.3 per cent at the end of 2010 from 79.6 per cent at the end of 2009, OPEC said in its annual 2010-2011 oil report this week.

From around 1,064 billion barrels at the end of 2009, OPEC’s recoverable oil reserves soared to a record high of about 1,193 billion barrels at the end of 2010.

Almost all the increase was in Venezuela, Iran and Iraq as the reserves of other Gulf oil heavyweights remained unchanged.

Venezuela’s proven oil deposits surged by around 85 billion barrels from 211 billion to 296 billion barrels at the end of 2011 to turn it into the world’s largest oil basin, controlling nearly 20.2 per cent of the total global oil wealth.

Saudi Arabia retreated to the second place for the first time in OPEC’s four-decade history as it sat atop 264.5 billion barrels at the end of 2010, almost unchanged from their level a year earlier.

But it remained the world’s largest oil exporter and the second producer after Russia, which is pumping close to 10 million barrels per day.

The report showed Iran was the third largest oil power, with its proven crude resources swelling by nearly 14 billion barrels to 151 billion from 137 billion barrels. The proven reserves of conflict-battered Iraq gained nearly 28 billion barrels to reach 143 billion compared with 115 billion.

Kuwait was ranked fifth although its oil wealth remained at around 101 billion barrels while the UAE controlled the sixth reserves of 97.8 billion barrels.

The increase in Iran and Iraq boosted the Middle East’s total oil wealth to around 794 billion barrels at the end of 2010 from 752 billion barrels at the end of 2009. But its share of the world’s total oil reserves shrank to around 54.1 per cent from 56.2 per cent because of the sharp rise in Venezuela’s deposits.

The report showed the reserves of other major oil powers did not record any major increase, with those of Qatar and Algeria remaining at 25 billion and 12 billion barrels respectively. The reserves stood at around 37.2 billion barrels in Nigeria and 47 billion barrels in Libya, slightly higher than a year earlier.

Angola’s reserves stayed at 9.5 billion barrels and those of non-OPEC Oman at around 5.5 billion barrels. The reserves were put at 79.4 billion in Russia, about 39.8 billion in Kazakhstan, seven billion in Azerbaijan, 19.1 billion barrels in the United States, 4.9 billion in Canada, 11.6 billion in Mexico, seven billion in Norway, 3.4 billion in Britain, 4.4 billion in Egypt, 18 billion in China, 5.8 billion in India, 3.9 billion in Indonesia, and 6.7 billion in Sudan.