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Oil production in the Orinoco belt
Yes — long before Nicolás Maduro’s rule, U.S. oil companies were heavily invested in Venezuela: American majors dominated early 20th‑century development, suffered large‑scale expropriations at nationa...
Venezuela’s stated hydrocarbon and mineral “reserves” have been presented very differently since 2000: an early-2000s expansion and reclassification of heavy and extra‑heavy oil into “proven” categori...
A narrow group of refineries and countries worldwide currently have the technical configuration to handle Orinoco‑grade extra‑heavy crude — largely high‑conversion cokers and cokers with diluent/blend...
Restoring Venezuela’s oil output to pre‑2000 levels — roughly 3.2–3.5 million barrels per day — would require a major infusion of capital, skilled labor and time; analysts cited in recent reporting es...