Neither the United States nor Iran: the country with the largest reserves of billions of barrels of oil in the face of a possible black gold crisis

Thanks to our high and mighty President Donald Trump — who brought the prices up before bringing them back down and claiming a historic victory in a war that was at pains to officially name for history textbooks, but will instead be publicised in satirical comics — oil prices are back where they started.

Crude oil is used for everything from electrical systems to pharmaceuticals and fertilisers, and its price is a key barometer of how close we are to needing a nuclear bunker in our basement. As hinted at, we got pretty close last week, with Trump bending over backwards for Israel and bombing the nation of Iran, which in return saw its leaders hover their finger over the big red button that probably says something like “OIL PRICE MELTDOWN” in permanent marker just below it, so the Supreme Leader doesn’t get it mixed up with the Diet Coke button. I mean the Ayatollah there, not Trump. Oh, he’s the one with an actual Diet Coke button?

While Iran controls the movement of a lot of Earth’s precious oil, it has not got the largest reserves. That title goes to another friend of the United States.

It is Venezuela who holds the largest share of oil on the planet, with more than 303 billion barrels, representing roughly 17–18 % of global proven reserves.

Yet, despite its resource dominance, the country has been unable to take advantage of this black goldmine; sanctions from the USA continue to cripple the economy, with the US Congress saying it is tackling the problem of “entities that have engaged in criminal, antidemocratic, or corrupt actions.”

Trailing Venezuela is Saudi Arabia, with around 267 billion barrels. Its oil reserves, centred largely in the Ghawar field, have been the backbone of the global influence the country has had, over pretty much anything it looks at.

Perhaps surprisingly, Canada ranks third with approximately 163–170 billion barrels, mostly locked in Alberta’s oil sands. Despite the huge reserves, the geography makes extracting the oil extremely difficult.

Following closely are Iran (~208 billion barrels) and Iraq (~145 billion barrels), both holding huge reserves but, as mentioned, face problems elsewhere.

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The United Arab Emirates (~113 billion), Kuwait (~101 billion), Russia (~80 billion), Libya (~48 billion), United States (~47–55 billion), and Nigeria (~37 billion) round out the top ten, together accounting for the vast majority of global oil reserves.

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