Natural Resources of Venezuela

Venezuela’s economy is based primarily on the extraction, refinement and export of oil and its derivatives, since more than 80% of exports in the country correspond to the precious “black gold”.

Venezuela is one of the founding countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and it is estimated that under its soils the major oil reserves on the planetwhich in total represent more than 19% of world oil. According to Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), proven Venezuelan reserves of heavy crude oil exceeded 300 billion barrels for 2016 and, according to the Ministry of Popular Power of Petroleum of the country, the country oil reserves amounted to 303.8 billion Barriles in 2019.

In the Orinoco river basin there are more than 279 billion barrels of oil and only in the Lake Maracaibo basin, there is more oil than in the national reserves of Mexico, Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy and Colombia combined.

If you want to know more about oil, we recommend that you take a look at this article about oil is a renewable resource?

In 2016, Venezuela occupied number six in the ranking of countries with the largest natural gas reserves in the world. According to The World Factbook, in 2018 the Venezuelan land had approximately 5,739 trillion cubic meters of reserves of natural gas. Despite its natural abundance, hydrocarbon is not exported and, contradictory, it is scarce in many Venezuelan homes.

We leave these other post about what natural gas is and what is the use of oil and natural gas for you, so you can know more about the subject.

After oil, iron is the second mining resource with the highest export rate in Venezuela. For 2012, Venezuela had a reserve of 4,000 million tons of iron. For 2016, proven iron reserves increased to 4,100 million tons and estimated around 8,700 million probable tons. According to President Nicolás Maduro and the Ministry of Popular Power for Ecosocialism, for 2019 Venezuela had 14,605 ​​million tons iron.

The largest reserves are located southeast of the Orinoco River, in the Guayana ferriferous belt. The deposits of Cerro Bolívar, the Aro River basin, the Cerro El Pao and the Imataca Sierra stand out.

Venezuela is the Latin American country with the largest verified gold reserves, since by 2018 these reserves accumulated a total of 147.4 metric tons and, by 2021, the value amounted to Almost 161.2 Gold Metric Tons. These data were provided by the Venezuelan government, so its veracity is frequently questioned.

The largest gold deposits are in Bolívar state, southeast of the country. In Venezuela, most of the gold extraction is made illegallywithout any regulation and without taking into account the well -being of ecosystems.

Here are more information about how mineral extraction affects the environment.

The coltan is a rock mostly composed of Tantonta and Columbita. It is known as blue gold and is highly demanded by technology industries to be used in the manufacture of technological components For smartphones, computers, video game consoles and a wide variety of electronic devices.

Venezuela is part of the whole of countries where it is possible Extraction and marketing of coltan is controlled by crime bands organized. Coltán’s largest deposits in Venezuela are south of the Orinoco River and have an estimated value of 100 billion dollars.

Venezuela is One of the 10 countries with the greatest reservations proven diamonds. The largest deposits are located south of the Bolivar state, along the Caroní River basin. According to President Nicolás Maduro, there are about 1,020 million diamond carats, with an estimated value of 152.7 billion dollars. Large percentage of diamond extraction in Venezuela is made of Illicit and harmful way For the environment.

We recommend this other post about the main environmental problems in Venezuela so you can have more information on the subject.

The territorial extension of Venezuela is approximately 912,050 square kilometers and almost 23% of the territory is part of its 45 national parks, 36 natural monuments and numerous protected areas.

Venezuela has one very diverse geography and has nine natural regions which include an extensive variety of biomes. The savannanas of the Llanera region, the beaches of the Costa-Montaña region, the coral reefs of the Caribbean Sea, the deserts of the Falcón state, the jungles of the Amazon and Bolívar states, the tropical forests of the Guayana region, the mangroves that border the Orinoco River, the mountain ranges, mountains and snowy peaks of the Andean region and the tepuyes of the Masso and the tepuyes of the Masso and the tepuyes, Guayanese

Some of the most famous and visited natural tourist places in Venezuela are:

• Canaima National Park: declared a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1994.
• Jump Angel: This is the largest water jump in the world.
• Pico Bolívar: It is the highest point in Venezuela.
• Waraira Repano or Ávila National Park: located in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.
• Monte Roraima.
• Mochima National Park.
• The choir’s marks.
• Lake Maracaibo.
• Los Roques Archipelago.
• Margarita Island.
• Morrocoy National Park.
• El Guácharo National Park.

Discover more details about the natural regions of Venezuela in this other ecology article that we recommend.

Venezuela occupies the seventh place among the 17 megadiverse countries of the world, it houses around 9% of world flora and fauna And it is one of the best places to make ecotourism. Venezuela’s biodiversity includes:

• More than 1,418 bird species: Of which 48 are endemic. The Turpial (National Ave), the Tijereta hummingbird, the coliblanco hummingbird, the blue -yellow macaw, the red macaw, the harpy eagle, the Andean condor, the red corocoro, the multicolored parakeet, the dirty face and the tucán Pico Iris stand out.
• Around 360 species of amphibians: The Amazon dairy, the orange lemur frog, the venomous dart frog, the Tepuyana frog, the yellow arborium frog, the yellow sapito of the carbonera, the yellow sapito of mucubají, the rough sapite of the Roraima and the salamandra of the carbonera.
• Around 405 species of reptiles: The Orinoco Cayman, La Baba, La Anaconda, the Cascabel Snake, La Boa rainbow, the green iguana, the Matamata turtle and the Morrocoy stand out.
• More than 2,000 species of fish: The Cachama, the Piraña del Orinoco, the slug of the Andes, the Cunaguaro Bagreo, the Trecho del Guaire, the needle of Maracaibo, the Sardinita de Aroa and Yaracuy, the dogfish and the Arrecife of the Caribbean.
• Around 380 species of mammals: The Frontino bear, the Chigüire, the Tapir, the Jaguar, the Puma, the Cradle, the Tonina, the Capuchin Monkey, the Manati, the blue whale, the Araguato, the howler monkey, the white -tail deer, the ringed coat and laziness, stand out.
• Around 25,000 species of plants: More than 350 varieties of orchids are included. The Araguaney (National Tree), the Flor de Mayo (National Flor), El Desure, El Mamón, El Mango, La Ollita de Mono, the Heliamphora Chimantensis Carnivor, El Matapalo, El Guayabo, El Ave del Paraíso, El Frailejón, Caracuey, Riqui Riqui and the Trinitaria.

Here you can read more about Venezuela’s animals, specifically, we present 22 animals in danger of extinction in Venezuela.

Venezuelan cocoa is Recognized worldwidel for its excellent quality. In Venezuela there are the necessary environmental conditions for the planting and collection of the Creole and Trinitarian cocoa, which are characterized by their aromatic Taste, delicate bitterness and easy processing. Numerous chocolateras in the world incorporate some Venezuelan cocoa into their products to contribute that fineness and exquisiteness that identify it.

Find out how to grow cocoa and chocolate at home, here.

If you want to read more articles similar to Natural Resources of Venezuelawe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.