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Ear to the Ground

Venezuela’s Whopping Oil Reserves

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Posted on Jan 23, 2010
AP / Rachel Jones

Oil pumps in operation near Cabimas in Venezuela’s western Zulia state.

A new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey says that Venezuela’s oil reserves could be double those of Saudi Arabia, a finding that could significantly alter the world’s geopolitical stage and crude oil market. —JCL

The BBC:

A new US assessment of Venezuela’s oil reserves could give the country double the supplies of Saudi Arabia.

Scientists working for the US Geological Survey say Venezuela’s Orinoco belt region holds twice as much petroleum as previously thought.

The geologists estimate the area could yield more than 500bn barrels of crude oil.

This assessment is far more optimistic than even the best case scenario put forward by President Hugo Chavez.

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By samosamo, January 24, 2010 at 8:01 pm Link to this comment

Then I wouldn’t be able to think of you in just a thong.

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By diman, January 24, 2010 at 6:52 pm Link to this comment

Shouldn’t this info be immediately classified?

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By Conservative Yankee, January 24, 2010 at 1:50 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I don’t know why the big surprise, well over half a century ago, I was sitting on my father’s lap at 26 Broadway when Al Nickerson told my father; “Harry there is a very large oil reservoir under Venezuela, go down there and be sure our guys find it first.”

When Dad and I first landed in that lush green country, we touched down on Caracas’ only airport, a grass runway. five years later you could see the blue/gray smog of that capital city 100 miles away. As a child I loved watching the gas burn off the top of the refining towers… I even liked the smell of oil.

I do not know when Standard of New York pulled out of Venezuela, it must have been after Dad retired in ‘74. but the Company always knew that Venezuela and Columbia had vast (at that time unreachable) oil reserves. Mobil found them first, unfortunately the technology of the day could not extract it.

Does anyone know if the pipeline from Caracas to Panama still exists?  I’ve tried to find it on the internet, but have been unsuccessful.

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By Thong-girl, January 24, 2010 at 1:24 pm Link to this comment

By dihey, January 24 at 1:35 pm #

“Samosamo. I have read the cry “stop making plastics” by people who own computers. Case closed. “

Can we at least agree to quit wearing polyester?

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By christian96, January 24, 2010 at 12:03 pm Link to this comment

So Pres. Chavez has oil.  That could be the reason
months ago Pat Robertson called for the killing of
Pres. Chavez.  Pat Robertson.  Nice Christian man.
In case you haven’t watched Mr. Robertson’s 700 Club
lately I can briefly expose his format.  He begins
by discussing news and politics.  Then he quickly
introduces someone who was down and out until that
person sent Mr. Robertson some money.  Then God made
their life much better.  For some reason he never
interviews someone who sent him money and their life
didn’t improve.  Do you think that sneaky Mr. Robertson could be deceiving the public?  Don’t blame
Jesus for what Pat Robertson advocates!

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By dihey, January 24, 2010 at 9:35 am Link to this comment

Samosamo. I have read the cry “stop making plastics” by people who own computers. Case closed.

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By Mundt, January 24, 2010 at 7:39 am Link to this comment

Go, go, Hugo. Democracy in, US meddling out.

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By Inherit The Wind, January 24, 2010 at 7:00 am Link to this comment

rollzone, January 24 at 1:34 am #

hello. with the new technology, we can drill a well into their reserves from here: and they will never know it. we have more oil in and around our country, and that will never be necessary. the demand for oil has already been exceeding production levels, and the future is: the continuing decline in the use of gasoline. that is where most oil is being wasted. that is the source of most air pollution. that is why this is an alarmist point of provocation, of what is not clear to me.
**************************************

“I drink your milkshake!”

If we believe Hugo Chavez is a threat (and if he is, Dumbya unnecessarily made him so) then the REAL answer is to do what Jimmy Carter told us to do 33 years ago: End our dependence on fossil fuels, particularly petroleum.

It’s f***in’ obvious.

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By idarad, January 23, 2010 at 9:43 pm Link to this comment

Coup time - Honduras was the practice run

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By rollzone, January 23, 2010 at 9:34 pm Link to this comment

hello. with the new technology, we can drill a well into their reserves from here: and they will never know it. we have more oil in and around our country, and that will never be necessary. the demand for oil has already been exceeding production levels, and the future is: the continuing decline in the use of gasoline. that is where most oil is being wasted. that is the source of most air pollution. that is why this is an alarmist point of provocation, of what is not clear to me.

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By Commune115, January 23, 2010 at 9:27 pm Link to this comment

So THAT’S why the US now has seven military bases in neighboring Colombia!

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By Rodney, January 23, 2010 at 9:11 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

It’s not their oil it’s our oil. Either way most of it will wind up in the US of A. Either Chavez plays nice and sell it to us cheap or we’ll have to invade because of those weapons of mass destruction and set up a puppet government in order for Blackwater, Halliburton KBR all all of the war profiteers can remain in business for the next 50 years.

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By doublestandards/glasshouses, January 23, 2010 at 6:43 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

People who want the rights to their own natural
resources are terrorists.  There is an axis of evil
in Latin America and Venezuela is at the center of it.
Time for regime change.  Shock and awe.  Chavez out of
Venezuela in 48 hours.  Take him to The Hague.

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By blue star, January 23, 2010 at 5:34 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

My first thought was to look for the CIA to up the ante and accelerate efforts to
find a way for the US to oust the government and put a bribed right wing puppet
regime in its place.  A reason will be found, the reported rise of radical leftist
threatening democracy in the region and proven by staged or non-existent
events, to justify our increased funding and military aid in the forms of weapons
and troops to suppress resistance and support the puppet regime.

Same old same old, civilians including women and children will be slaughtered &
raped, leftist clergy working with the people in the country side will be murdered,
serious native investigative journalists will be tortured then killed. 

What else is new?

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Ouroborus's avatar

By Ouroborus, January 23, 2010 at 4:39 pm Link to this comment

If true then Chavez better up his personal security,
because the U.S. will surely want the oil and long ago
proved it will murder and savage all to get it. If I
were Chavez, I’d be very worried; no 2 nights in the
same bed.

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knobcreekfarmer's avatar

By knobcreekfarmer, January 23, 2010 at 3:05 pm Link to this comment

First, congrats Mr. Chavez and the free citizens of Venezuela.

Of course they have know about the oil there for years. That was
one of the regions Chavez took back control from Exxon several
years ago, remember? And now China, South Korea have been
helping with “Advanced Drilling Rigs.” Now we want it - again?
Tim K is right as is Big B.  It’s the American way of life-
remember?

But more importantly it proves my second point, Peak Oil is here:

That oil is “heavy [sour] crude.” Very hard to suck out of the
ground, especially under thousands of feet of water, and even
harder to refine. Doable, but like the Canadian Tar Sands the real
cost of producing it will prove very costly both economical as well
as environmentally. Don’t expect this to keep Arnold’s Hummer
humming on $3 a gallon fuel for years to come.

The whole hard reality of Peak Oil is NOT that we are running out
of oil. The earth will always have oil to find.  Peak Oil is about the
physical realities that extraction of these types of reserves are
hard, expensive and approach a negative EROEI (Energy Return on
Energy Invested). As soon as it takes two barrels of oil to extract
three barrels the oil companies will not bother no matter what the
price. If that is where all the “news” is on energy is we are in deep
shit!

Peak Oil is about the global flow of oil reaching a maximum
production level and then falling year by year. Less and less for a
growing world is not a formula for happiness.

The “Drill Baby Drill” crowd will deny this to no end. They believe
that resources have no physical limits and that economic growth
can always ramp up because “the markets will take care of the
situation.”

Here is a great speech everyone should listen too:

“The Business of Climate Change Conference 2009”
Jeff Rubin, the former Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets and
the author of Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYuLjGQQ-jg

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By samosamo, January 23, 2010 at 12:25 pm Link to this comment

By Big B, January 23 at 3:14 pm

It would be great to stop making plastics since the BP-A is not
conducive to life, but as you said ‘drill baby drill’.

By bogglesthemind, January 23 at 3:42 pm

Yeah, I think it probable a big reserve but it is more for a
reason to invade an irritating government to the american
aristocracy, but maybe russia and china would have a say in that.

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bogglesthemind's avatar

By bogglesthemind, January 23, 2010 at 11:42 am Link to this comment

Not only do they have OIL, they also have WMD and plan to use them
within the next year, or sooner.  WE have reliable intelligence reports from
reliable sources.

Haiti will make a good ‘jumping off’ point, as will Honduras and Columbia.

kill baby kill

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By Big B, January 23, 2010 at 11:14 am Link to this comment

Outside of the fact that any assessment done by any agency connected to the US should be considered dubious at best, we all still fail to realize this sobering fact, we are a petroleum based economy and the black gold is running out.

Instead of thinking of ways to make plastics without it, or asphalt, or carbon fibers, or cars, or almost anything related to the worlds transportation infrastucture, we have but a single mantra, “drill baby drill.”

Are we really this stupid?

Oh well, one small consolation is that fresh water will start running out about the same time the oil does. The real irony here is that how is our military machine going to protect the oil in all the strategic spots around the world when there is no gasoline to get there?

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By Tim Kelly, January 23, 2010 at 11:14 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Hmm…Hugo Chavez is not “U.S. friendly.”  The U.S. needs oil and will remove democratically-elected governments in order to obtain that oil. 

So, will he be assassinated or removed in a military coup?

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