Top 10 Oil Reserve Holders: Venezuela & Libya Face Production Crises Despite Vast Reserves

• Venezuela holds the world's largest oil reserves (303 billion barrels) but faces severe production issues due to US sanctions, dilapidated infrastructure, and heavy crude requiring advanced tech.
• Saudi Arabia (267-269 billion barrels) leads OPEC, influencing global prices with high-quality crude and a production capacity of 10-12 million barrels per day.
• Iran (209 billion barrels) and Iraq (145 billion barrels) possess significant reserves but are hampered by US sanctions, political instability, and weak infrastructure.
• Canada (163-170 billion barrels) relies on high-cost oil sands, while Russia (80-107 billion barrels) shifted exports to India and China post-Ukraine war sanctions.
• The US (45-69 billion barrels) is the world's largest producer via shale oil, which depletes rapidly; Libya (48 billion barrels) has high-quality oil but unstable production due to civil war.

Why It Matters: Despite vast reserves, political instability and sanctions severely limit oil production in key nations.