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The largest oil reserves of any country on the planet, more than 300 billion barrels, are estimated to lie beneath the ground in Venezuela. President Donald Trump is now laying claim to these vast deposits after his capture of the country's president Nicolás Maduro.
Venezuelan oil is a tantalizing prospect for Trump, who reveres fossil fuels and has already set out a vision of US oil companies investing billions to unleash this black gold.
However, climate experts are sounding the alarm because this oil is among the dirtiest in the world.
"Venezuela's oil is considered 'dirty' not because of ideology, but because of physics and infrastructure," said Guy Prince, head of energy supply research at independent think tank Carbon Tracker.
The type of oil that dominates in Venezuela — mostly found in the Orinoco Belt, an expanse of land stretching across the eastern part of the country — is called heavy sour crude and is similar to Canada's oil sands. It's thick and viscous like molasses and has a higher concentration of planet-heating carbon than lighter oils.
Its consistency means heavy oil is generally harder and more energy-intensive to extract.
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📷: Jesus Vargas/Getty Images
