where are the oil fields in venezuela

Venezuela’s main oil fields are concentrated in a few big belts and basins, especially in the east and around Lake Maracaibo in the northwest.

Main oil regions

• Orinoco Oil Belt (Faja del Orinoco)
  This is the largest and most important oil region, a long strip south of the states of Anzoátegui, Monagas, Guárico and Delta Amacuro, roughly following the southern side of the Orinoco River in eastern Venezuela.

It contains huge deposits of extra‑heavy crude, with named development areas such as Boyacá, Junín, Ayacucho and Carabobo.

• Maracaibo Basin (Lake Maracaibo area)
  One of the world’s classic oil‑producing regions, centered on and around Lake Maracaibo in the far northwest, mainly in Zulia state.

This area historically held many of Venezuela’s conventional (lighter) oil fields and was the backbone of production through much of the 20th century.

Other producing areas

• Eastern Venezuela Basin (beyond the Orinoco Belt)
  Outside the extra‑heavy belt itself, there are conventional oil and gas fields in eastern states such as Anzoátegui and Monagas, within the broader East Venezuela Basin.

Fields there are associated with formations like Oficina and Merecure, which host significant onshore production.

• Offshore and northern areas
  Offshore fields and gas‑rich blocks lie in the Caribbean, including the Gulf of Venezuela and areas off the northeast coast (Plataforma Deltana and Mariscal Sucre), complementing onshore oil regions.

While these are often discussed for natural gas, they form part of the wider hydrocarbons picture tied to Venezuela’s oil industry.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.