Venezuela’s elephant in the room: Although topping the chart, Venezuela grapples with economic instability, sanctions, and the logistical challenges of extracting its extra-heavy oil from deposits like the Orinoco Belt, a potentially massive resource swathed in complexity

In contrast, Saudi Arabia features some of the lowest-cost, most accessible oil globally. Its key asset, the Ghawar oil field, remains the world’s largest conventional oil field, capable of pumping millions of barrels per day and reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s pivotal role in global energy markets.

Canada and Iraq: Canada’s reserves, largely located in the oil sands, pose environmental and cost challenges. Iraq, rich in reserves, must contend with infrastructure needs and regional instability in deploying its full potential.

Russia and the U.S.: Russia, while part of OPEC+, wields significant influence in both oil and natural gas domains. The U.S., despite being the world's largest oil producer and consumer, ranks only ninth in reserves—highlighting the difference between production scale and resource endowment.

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Venezuela tops the 2025 oil reserves ranking