Hannah Ritchie at By the Numbers:
Over the weekend, the United States bombed Venezuela, and captured its president Nicolás Maduro. There has been a lot of speculation about the legality, true motive and implications going forward.
Oil has been a central part of the discussion. I wanted to get a quick overview of what the global picture looks like. So here are five(ish) simple charts that give some context on the history of oil in Venezuela, and why the United States — which is, by far, the world’s largest producer itself — would care so much.
While we often think about the Middle East when it comes to large oil stocks, it’s Venezuela that has the largest proved reserves in the world.
The chart below shows the ten countries with the largest proved oil reserves. These are deposits that are deemed economically feasible to extract under current market conditions. This number can change as new reserves are found, or become economic.
More here.
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