Venezuela is best known for producing heavy and extra-heavy crude oil , much of it from the Orinoco Belt, rather than light “sweet” crude.

Main oil type

  • Venezuela’s reserves are dominated by very heavy and extra‑heavy crude with low API gravity, meaning the oil is dense, viscous, and difficult to process compared with light crude.
  • A large share comes from the Orinoco Belt, where extra‑heavy crude is found in huge quantities and often needs upgrading (blending or special processing) before it can be refined.

Quality and characteristics

  • Much Venezuelan crude is “sour,” meaning it has relatively high sulfur content and requires more complex refining to meet fuel and emissions standards.
  • Typical Venezuelan streams like Merey are heavy, with API gravity around the mid-teens and several percent sulfur, reflecting the country’s overall heavy‑sour profile.

Uses of this crude

  • The extra‑heavy crude is commonly used to produce diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, and as a feedstock for petrochemical products after appropriate upgrading and refining.
  • Specialized refineries, particularly in places like the U.S. Gulf Coast, are configured to handle this kind of heavy Venezuelan crude efficiently.

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