Venezuela Has the World’s Largest Oil Reserves

Caracas, Feb 16. – Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, an achievement that crowns the policy of full oil sovereignty implemented by the government of President Hugo Chavez.

It was officially announced on Tuesday that Venezuela has estimated reserves of 296.5 billion barrels of oil, corroborating what Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez had told reporters some weeks earlier.

With that volume, Venezuela moves into first place, dislodging Saudi Arabia, which has 266 billion barrels of oil.

The increase in the Venezuelan oil reserves responds to state control of oil wells, and its stance, which is no longer submissive, toward the transnational corporations which formerly plundered national resources with the backing of neoliberal governments, Ramirez said.

One key was using for the country's benefit the 55,000 square-kilometer strip south of Guarico, Anzoategui, and Monagas states, an area that comprises nearly 75 percent of the reserves.(Prensa Latina)