Irony abounds in Venezuela’s oil story. The South American nation sits on the world’s largest crude reserves—over 300 billion barrels. That’s nearly a fifth of global proven reserves. Impressive, right? Too bad they can’t seem to get it out of the ground.
Recent production reached 1142 BBL/D/1K in November 2025, up slightly from October’s 1132. Big whoop. This “improvement” is a far cry from their glory days. In December 1997, they pumped out 3453 BBL/D/1K. Those were the days. Now they’re scraping by with roughly a third of that.
Venezuela’s production ranking tells the sad story. Twenty-first globally in 2024. Twenty-first! With the world’s largest reserves! Meanwhile, the U.S. casually pumps out over 20 million barrels daily, and Saudi Arabia nearly 11 million. Venezuela? Under a million. Talk about underachievement.
Venezuela sits at #21 globally while hosting the world’s largest oil reserves—a spectacular exercise in squandered potential.
The country hit rock bottom in July 2020—a pathetic 392 BBL/D/1K. Since 1973, they’ve averaged 2191.38 BBL/D/1K, making current production look downright embarrassing.
Years of infrastructure neglect and political chaos will do that to you. The capture of President Nicolás Maduro during U.S. military strikes in January 2026 further destabilized the already struggling oil sector. Forecasts suggest modest improvements. Quarter-end projections hover around 1000 BBL/D/1K, with long-term models predicting about 1200 BBL/D/1K by 2026. Hardly a comeback tour.
Most of what they do produce gets shipped to China. Not exactly diversifying your customer base, but beggars can’t be choosers. Sanctions since 2019 haven’t helped matters either. At least the improving Current Account to GDP shows some economic stabilization despite production challenges.
The cruel twist? All those reserves might stay right where they are—underground. Venezuela’s crude is notoriously heavy and high in sulfur. Processing it requires specialized refineries and techniques. It’s like having a vault full of gold that needs expensive machinery just to make it usable.
