Petroleum Industry

History

1. Formation of a Petroleum Economy
   • Before the installation of the petroleum industry, Venezuelans lived by agriculture.
   • During the rule of Juan Vicente Gomez, Venezuela was transformed from an agricultral based country to a petroleum republic. This transgresion occurred from 1900-1930.
   • Venezuela had abundant supplies of oil was already known since the earliest pre-colombian times, when the indigenous peoples of Venezuela used oil and asphalt, which seeped to the surface, for medicinal and other practical purposes. However, it was not until 1912 that the first oil well was drilled. Royal Dutch Shell and then Rockefeller’s Standard Oil became major producers of oil in Venezuela. Within a few years, by 1929, Venezuela was the world’s second largest oil producer, after the U.S., and the world’s largest oil exporter.

Progression

Oil - production: 3.081 million bbl/day (2005 est.) Oil - consumption: 530,000 bbl/day (2003 est.) Oil - exports: 2.1 million bbl/day (2004 est.) Oil - imports: NA (2004 est.) Oil - proved reserves:

[[1]Future GDP]