Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez Frías frequently boasts his country is home to the second largest accumulation of crude oil reserves in the world -- only surpassed by Saudi Arabia -- and the fifth and third largest exporter of crude oil and petroleum products to the US market, respectively. He would be correct to point out that Venezuela’s Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt (“Orinoco Belt”) is home to the largest accumulation of recoverable heavy and extra-heavy oil in the world.
Worldwide, the decline in conventional crude oil reserves and production has and will force hydrocarbon-consuming nations to focus more attention on the heavy and extra heavy oil basins worldwide. Venezuela, with its large resource base, stands as one of the countries that could benefit the most.
Even as foreign investors have been invited to Venezuela to assist in certifying and quantifying its heavy and extra heavy oil reserves, it still remains to be seen whether or not these investors or others will be willing to take the risk and invest in the multimillion dollar activities needed to commercially develop the country’s resources. However, despite investor pessimism and a not-so-attractive investment scenario, the risk-reward tradeoff remains extremely attractive to independents and integrated majors as well as state-run oil companies.
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