World News for Students of English

27-02-2026 15:00

Venezuela has the largest known oil reserves in the world, mainly in the Orinoco Belt. However, most of this oil is extra heavy crude, which is thick, difficult to extract, expensive to refine, and produces very high emissions.

Oils from countries such as the United States or Saudi Arabia are lighter, Venezuela’s oil requires special methods like steam or chemical injection to make it flow. It also needs extra upgrading before it can be refined. Even then, it produces products like asphalt and heavy fuel instead of high-demand fuels like gasoline or jet fuel. Also, the extraction process releases large amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Poor maintenance of infrastructure has made emissions even worse.

Political leaders have shown interest in controlling these reserves, but foreign oil companies are careful because of high costs, environmental impact, and Venezuela’s history of nationalising its oil industry. Future technologies could improve the situation, but this would require bit investment and stability.

Difficult words: crude (oil in its natural form, before it is cleaned or processed), refine (a process to make oil usable), asphalt (a black, sticky material used to make roads), nationalising (when a government takes control of a private company or industry).

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