Venezuela claims he enjoys oil world reserves (AFP)

CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuela exceeded the Saudi Arabia to become the nation with the largest proved reserves of crude oil worldwide to 297 billion barrels, oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Wednesday.

"At the end of 2010, we had a level of 217 billion barrels of oil, and now we can certify 297 billion barrels at the beginning of this year", said the Minister during a press conference.

Saudi Arabia, long first world producer and exporter of crude oil, has some 266 billion barrels of oil, according to the Organization of the countries exporting oil.

Member of OPEC to Venezuela, first Latin America of crude oil exporting countries stated regularly increase proved oil reserves in recent years, including a 23% increase a year earlier, due largely to the Venezuela oil-rich Orinoco Belt.

Southeast of the Venezuela region saw a boon in domestic and foreign investments in recent years, Caracas is looking to exploit reserves vanished and heavy oil Orinoco Belt.

For years experts believed that it was too expensive to extract and refine vanished and heavy oil in the region. But the increase in world oil - prices currently about 100 dollars per barrel, against $ 20 per barrel during the 1990s, has reignited interest among foreign companies who are committed to tens of billions of dollars in investments.

Last year, some 30 companies from over 20 different countries were operating in the Orinoco Belt a few square kilometers 55,314 (21,360 square miles) oil reserve in the Orinoco region.

But Orinoco oil has been a point of contention in the world of oil.

Last July, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a Chief of intelligence Saudi former claims rejected by President Hugo Chavez, who says Venezuela perhaps more proven reserves of the Saudi Arabia.

"These claims are completely on unproved reserves, so that they are completely hypothetical and, in my view, entirely without merit," prince said at the time.

"Were Saudi Arabia down the path to claim non-proved reserves, is there still no competition," he added, saying that the Kingdom of desert perhaps more 700 billion barrels underground.