FILE - President Donald Trump , flanked by Vice President JD Vance, left, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington.
FILE - President Donald Trump , flanked by Vice President JD Vance, left, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington.
Evan Vucci - APOne figure sets Venezuela apart from the rest of the world: 303 billion barrels of so-called proven oil reserves. But experts say the country’s estimate is inherently problematic and far from proven. They call it rooted in exaggerated, aging data from a corrupt government. The number's long been touted as a key measure of untapped energy potential. President Donald Trump’s administration used it in detailing a sweeping deal for the U.S. to take control of some Venezuelan reserves. But experts say a more realistic estimate of Venezuela’s proven reserves is about one-third of that. They put the likely figure at 60 to 120 billion barrels. That's vast but not enough for Venezuela to remain the world’s largest holder of reserves.
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