Venezuela's Proven Crude
Oil Reserves Reach 130
Billion Barrels
Venezuela's proven crude
oil reserves have
increased by 30 percent
to reach 130 billion
barrels, the largest
outside the Middle East,
Minister of Energy and
Petroleum Rafael Ramirez
said Thursday.
He made the announcement
while addressing a
meeting of
representatives from 12
South American countries
on evaluating a regional
energy plan which is
expected to be signed by
these countries' heads
of state at the upcoming
summit of the Union of
South American Nations (Unasur)
scheduled for May 23 in
Brazil.
Ramirez also said
Venezuela will ink an
agreement with Argentina
to provide the latter
with liquefied gas as
part of the South
American Energy Security
Treaty.
During the meeting,
representatives of
Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil, Colombia, Chile,
Ecuador, Guyana,
Uruguay, Surinam, Peru,
Paraguay and Venezuela
studied the
"Characteristics of the
South American Energy
Action Plan" and the
"Characteristics of the
Energy Work in South
America."
The energy subject forms
a fundamental issue for
Unasur, Ramirez said.
Unasur is a fledging
bloc that unites two
existing regional free
trade groups -- the
Common Market of the
South and the Andean
Community -- as part of
a continuing process of
South American
integration.
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