
Why Venezuela, with the most oil in the world, has become the "poorest oil country"

Global oil reserves are highly concentrated, but production capacity is severely decoupled: Venezuela boasts the largest reserves of 303 billion barrels but is nearly "stranded," while Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia dominate actual supply due to their enormous reserves and extremely low extraction costs. This reveals a harsh reality: having resources does not equate to having market power; true economic and geopolitical influence depends on the ability to convert reserves into stable exports
Global oil reserves are highly concentrated, but production capacity is severely decoupled: Venezuela boasts the largest reserves of 303 billion barrels but is nearly "stranded," while Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia dominate actual supply due to their vast reserves and extremely low extraction costs. This reveals a harsh reality: having resources does not equate to having market power; true economic and geopolitical influence depends on the ability to convert reserves into stable exports.

