GLOBAL OIL

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The oil industry dominates the Venezuelan economy. It produces more than half of all South American petroleum and the 4th largest supplier of oil to the United States.

Petroleum forms a third of the Venezuelan economy and most of the export earnings. The government-owned PDVSA controls the oil sector, including over than 14,000 retail gas stations in the U.S.

Political and international tensions continue between the Hugo Chavez government of Venezuela and the U.S. Oil usually forms a component of the dispute.

Political and labor disputes in Venezuela, as well as various social incentives initiated by Chavez, have caused oil prices to fluctuate over the years. But high global prices and increased foreign investment have pumped up revenues.

The Orinoco Oil Sands, along with the Athabasca Oil Sands in Canada, are the largest oil sand deposits in the world. There may be 1.8 trillion barrels of reserves in the Orinoco field (though they technically remain unproven). The Venezuela sands may be more profitable to extract than the Canadian, at $16 a barrel compared to $20 a barrel.