orinoco belt, faja petrolifera del orinoco, petroleo extrapesado, oil heavy,

1. Andrés Gutiérrez
E- 84602553

2. The Orinoco Belt is a territory
in the southern strip of the
eastern Orinoco River Basin
in Venezuela which overlies
the world's largest deposits of
petroleum.
Its local Spanish name
is Faja Petrolífera del
Orinoco (Orinoco Petroleum
Belt).
The Orinoco Belt is
located Guárico and south of
the Anzoátegui, Monagas,
and Delta Amacuro states,
and it follows the line of the
river.
It is approximately 600
kilometres (370 mi) from east
to west, and 70 Kilometres
(43 mi) from north to south,
with an area about 55,314
square kilometres
(21,357 sq mi).
The United States Geological
Survey (USGS) has carried
out the first assessment that
identifies how much oil might
be technically recoverable
using currently technology and
standard industry practices.
According to USGS
Energy Resources Program
Coordinator Brenda Pierce,
this part of the world has one
of the world’s largest
recoverable oil accumulations.
The USGS’s report is part of
its program directed at
estimating the technically
recoverable oil and gas
resources of priority petroleum
basins worldwide. This is the
largest accumulation ever
assessed by the USGS

3. The Orinoco Belt consists of
large deposits of extra heavy
crude. Venezuela's heavy oil
deposits of about 1,200
billion barrels (1.9×1011 m3),
found primarily in the Orinoco
Petroleum Belt, are
estimated to approximately
equal the world's reserves of
lighter oil. Petróleos de
Venezuela S.A. has
estimated that the producible
reserves of the Orinoco Belt
are up to 235 billion barrels
(3.74×1010 m3) which would
make it the
largest petroleum reserve in
the world, slightly ahead of
the similar unconventional
oil source in the Athabasca
oil sands, and before Saudi
Arabia. In 2009, the US
Geological Survey increased
the estimated reserves to 513
billion barrels (8.16×1010 m3)
of oil which is "technically
recoverable (producible using
currently available
technology and industry
practices)." No estimate of
how much of the oil is
economically recover.
Venezuela holds around 90
percent of proven extra
heavy oil reserves globally,
mainly located in the Orinoco
Belt. Certification of this
resource means that, in July
2010, Venezuela overtook
Saudia Arabia as the country
with the largest oil reserves
in the world. Petróleos de
Venezuela SA (PDVSA), the
state oil company, is also
now the world’s fourth largest
company able was made.

4. • The industrial
development and the
large new necessary
infrastructure in
refinement
equipment and
transport have
intense impacts on
the country, including
air, soil and water
pollution, huge
volumes of solid
waste, and the waste
of energy and
resources. The local
civil society has
expressed concern
about the health
impacts of waste
products generated
at the industrial
complex. However,
while there is a legal
requirement in
Venezuela for all oil
projects to carry out
environmental impact
assessments (EIA),
including baseline
studies, these studies
do not appear to
have been published
and there is no
information on any
more recent EIAs
carried out by PDVSA
in relation to
operations in the
Orinoco Belt. NGOs
therefore demand
better environmental
monitoring and
oversight.