The following Kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said last week that US President Donald Trump’s administration wants to quickly restore the country’s oil production and expand its mining sector.
“You’ve got steel, you’ve got minerals, all critical minerals, they’ve had a great history of mining that’s rusted,” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. “President Trump is going to fix it and bring it back.”
So, what reserves and resources does Venezuela have?
Largest known oil reserves
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at 303 billion barrels by 2023, more than five times the 55.25 billion barrels held by the United States.
Venezuela is also one of the founding members of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), which formed the group in Baghdad in September 1960 along with Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Venezuela’s oil reserves are mainly concentrated in the Orinoco Belt, which covers about 55,000 square kilometers (21,235 sq mi) in the eastern part of the country, which is controlled by Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de VenezA (Petroleos de VenezA).
The Orinoco Belt contains extra-heavy crude oil, which is highly viscous and dense, making it much more difficult and expensive to extract than conventional crude oil. As a result, it typically sells at a discount compared to lighter, sweeter crudes extracted from US shale.
Refinement of oil from this region requires advanced techniques available in the US, particularly in the states of Texas and Louisiana.
Who buys Venezuela’s oil?
Venezuela was once an oil major exporter. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it supplied the United States with approximately 1.5 to 2 million barrels per day, making it one of America’s largest foreign oil sources.
However, political instability, mismanagement at PDVSA, lack of investment and US embargo Production in the country’s energy industry has declined.
Venezuela produced an average of 952,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, compared with 783,000 bpd in 2023, according to PDVSA’s results reported by OPEC. According to a Reuters report, PDVSA’s oil sales abroad were to reach $17.52bn in 2024.
China is the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude oil and has been for the past decade. In November 2025, before the US military blockade began in December, Venezuela exported 952,000 barrels per day.
Of this, 778,000 barrels were sent to China, giving Beijing an 81.7 percent share of Venezuela’s oil exports. The US is the second largest buyer, importing 15.8 percent of Venezuela’s oil; Cuba then imported nearly 2.5 percent.
natural gas
Venezuela ranks ninth in the world for natural gas reserves.
According to the International Energy Agency, by 2023, Venezuela’s gas reserves were about 5.5 trillion cubic meters (195 trillion cubic feet), which is 73 percent of South America’s total natural gas reserves.
Most of these reserves are tied to crude oil, with about 80 percent of produced natural gas being a byproduct of oil production.
Gold
Venezuela has the largest gold reserves in Latin America.
According to the World Gold Council, which monitors central bank holdings globally, Venezuela’s reserves are estimated at 161.2 metric tonnes, worth more than $23bn at today’s market value.
Venezuela is believed to have some of the most significant untapped gold resources, but official data is out of date.
In 2011, former President Hugo Chávez announced the Orinoco Mining Arc, which would explore, nationalize and export the ores. In February 2016, Maduro began further development of the sector, marking 12 percent of the country for mining in several states. The government said it had deposits of diamonds, nickel, coltan and copper that it would mine.
In 2018, Maduro announced a “gold plan” to encourage investment in gold after signing mining deals with several foreign companies worth an estimated $5.5bn. However, none of these agreements have been completed and most mines remain under the control of non-state armed groups.
A 2018 mineral report by Venezuela’s Ministry of Environmental Mining Development estimates that the country has at least 644 metric tons of gold, but the Venezuelan government says the actual number could be much higher.
What other minerals does Venezuela have?
2018 Catalog of Minerals Approximate:
- Approximately 3 billion metric tons of proven coal reserves
- 14.68 billion metric tons of iron ore, of which 3.6 billion have been proved
- 407,885 MT of nickel reserves
- Bauxite was measured at 99.4 million metric tons
- Diamond reserves of 1,020 million carats have been reported in the Orinoco Mining Arc and 275 million carats in the Guanaimo area alone.