Venezuela's oil reserves swell to 130 bln barrels

Venezuela's oil reserves swell to 130 bln barrels
AFP - Thursday, May 8 08:52 pm

CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuela's proven crude oil reserves had swelled to 130 billion barrels as of late April, marking a rise of 30 billion from its prior estimate, energy and oil minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday.

Ramirez, who also runs Venezuela's state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), made the announcement at a regional energy summit as world oil prices continued to strike record highs.

"As of April 2008 we have increased by 30 billion barrels of oil our additional proven crude reserves" north of the Orinoco River, Ramirez said.

The energy minister said the South American state, which is a key member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), hopes to have its proven oil reserves certified at 235 billion barrels by 2009.

Venezuela's new estimate of oil reserves puts the country in second place behind oil-rich Saudia Arabia in the league of countries controlling the world's biggest reserves.

Saudi Arabia has proven oil reserves of around 264 billion barrels, followed by Canada with 174 billion, Iran with 136 billion and Iraq with 115 billion barrels.

The Orinoco River region referred to by Ramirez is a key oil production area in Venezuela, a major oil exporter, especially to the United States.

The leftist government of President Hugo Chavez has sought to tighten the state's control over the oil industry in recent years as more oil has been discovered.

A law passed by Chavez's government forced multinationals operating in the country to cede a majority stake in their operations to PDVSA.

Rocketing world oil prices have enabled Chavez's government to reap a windfall in oil export earnings.

New York's benchmark oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, closed up 16 cents at an all-time high of 123.69 dollars a barrel Thursday.