Venezuela’s proven reserves of crude oil surpassed those of Saudi Arabia in 2010, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its annual statistical bulletin, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.
However, there are concerns over whether much of the sticky, extra-heavy crude proven in Venezuela will be economically viable, even at current high prices.
The bulletin also stated that Iran’s oil-refining capacity increased 18 percent last year, the biggest gain among OPEC members, according to a report by the 12-member group. This dovetails with Tehran’s ambition to be more self-sufficient on petroleum following the implementation of UN sanctions.
Refining capacity fell 2.9% to 800,000 barrels in neighboring Iraq, OPEC said. Outside OPEC, Russia increased its exports by 84% to 2.24 million barrels a day.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that exports of crude oil by Venezuela and Saudi Arabia led monthly increases by OPEC member countries in May, according to the Joint Organization Data Initiative.
Venezuela boosted export volumes by 9.5% from April to 1.54 million barrels a day, while Saudi Arabia raised monthly shipments by 1.2% to 6.84 million barrels a day, data posted today on the initiative’s website showed.
The initiative, supervised by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum, compiles data from primary sources.
