What are the natural resources of Venezuela?

The Natural resources of Venezuela Are based mainly on their large reserves of oil, natural gas, iron, gold, bauxite, hydroelectric power among other resources

Venezuela is a South American country whose geographical coordinates are 800ºN, 6600ºW with an average elevation of 450 msnm; Its lowest point is the Caribbean sea at 0 msnm and its highest point the Bolivar Peak at 5,007 msnm; Its total area is 912,050 m2, being 882,050 m2 of land and 30,000 m2 of water and occupies the 33rd place in territorial extension with respect to the other countries.

Its borders are bordered by Brazil, Colombia and Guyana; The extension of its maritime territory is 12 mn.

Its climate is tropical, hot and humid; 24.5% of its territory is destined for agricultural land, while 52.1% is for forest land and the remaining 23.4% goes to other uses (CIA, 2015).

It is one of the countries with the lowest economy in the world and by the year 2017 is expected to intensify the economic crisis (with a projected growth rate of -4.5%) (Obstfeld, 2016).

Oil as the main pillar in Venezuela's economy

According to the official website of the CIA, in 2015 Venezuela was the country with the highest oil reserves in the world (18% of the total), of which exports 1,548 million barrels of crude oil per day.

Its refined petroleum production is 999,400 barrels / day of which exports 390,990 barrels / day. Due to its high production and that this has been the main source of work of the Venezuelans, pollution problems have been present when spills occur or by the rush in the deposits of wastes generated by the industry, becoming this one of the main Problems facing the country with respect to the environment (Brandt et al., 2007).

To counteract this, phytoremediation actions have frequently been carried out to counteract these effects (Bracho et al., 2004).

Obtaining natural gas

Venezuela ranks 8th in natural gas reserves. Its proven reserves at the beginning of 2016 were 5,617 trillion cubic meters and its production was 21.88 trillion cubic meters, ranking 33rd in world production.

However, its exports are nil because the country consumes more than it produces, seeing the need to import it from other countries (CIA, 2015), as Colombia, from which it obtains its gas through the Transguajiro gas pipeline that Goes from La Guajira to Maracaibo (Arriaga - Herrera, 2005).

Shale is the main resource from which natural gas is extracted. For this, a hydraulic fracturing process is carried out using millions of gallons of water (Jarvie, 2014) and a chemical mixture not provided by the company to fracture the stones and obtain the gas.

This material is present in many areas, being in the state of Zulia where is the area where more concentrations of hydrocarbons. However, because gas extraction is often linked to oil extraction, it is set aside to take advantage of the highest possible oil yield.

Hydroelectric power a renewable resource of Venezuela

In terms of consumption in the home, Venezuela is its leading supplier of fossil sources and water sources (Contreras et al., 2007).

Because in previous years rural areas were not adapted to the electricity system previously established in the city, they began to require alternative energy and this is where the first dams and hydroelectric plants were implemented due to exceptional geographical and hydrological conditions for development Of projects in this area.

This has ended up covering 22% of the total production of alternative energy in the country and by 2009 already ranked 9th worldwide as a producer of hydropower (Pietrosemoli & Rodríguez - Monroy, 2013). And it is that 70% of the Venezuelan population enjoyed these benefits.

Currently it has 7 working dams, 1 dam under construction and 1 disabled dam, in addition to 5 hydroelectric plants plus one under construction.

Mining activity in Venezuela

Venezuela ranks 10th in reserves of bauxite, a rock composed of hydrated aluminum oxides or iron. For 2011, a total of 4.5 million tons were extracted.

At present there are two areas dedicated to the extraction of this material, one being the Upata region and the other in the Serranía de los Pijiguaos plateau (Flores, 2011).

The mining activities of iron extraction are Cerro Bolivar, in the Savanna region to the southeast of Venezuela and 800 feet deep, where sand silica is also extracted (Ruckmick, 1963).

The activity of gold extraction is carried out mainly in the Imataca Forest Reserve located in Venezuelan Guyana, which has 3.2 million hectares.

80% of the inhabitants of this area depend, either directly or indirectly, on this economy (Lozada, 2000).

Venezuela is a country with enviable natural resources, but fortunately its exploitation has not been excessive as in many other nations. However, because of their inconsistent policies with the system, their indicators have not been favorable.

This has not prevented the high consumption of renewable energy for own consumption, as shown in the present paper, has been present in the benefits enjoyed by Venezuelans.

References

1. Obstfeld, Maurice. (2016). Prospects of the World Economy: Executive Summary and Chapter I. December 18, 2016, IMF.
2. From Venanzi, Yolanda. "Corporate citizenship in Venezuela."The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Spring 2002, p. 63+. Academic OneFile.
3. (2015). The world factbook. December 19, 2016, from CIA.
4. Regine Brandt, Nicole Merkl, Rainer Schultze-Kraft, Carmen Infante & Gabriele Broll (2006) Potential of vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash) for phytoremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils in Venezuela, International Journal of Phytoremediation, 8: 4 , 273-284, DOI: 101080/15226510600992808
5. Bracho, Mariangela; Díaz, Laugeny; & Soto, Luz - Marina. (2004). Degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons by bacteria isolated from soils contaminated with petroleum in the state of Zulia, Venezuela. University of Zulia. Venezuela.
6. Arriaga - Herrera, G. (2005). Oil and gas in Latin America. A political analysis and international relations based on Venezuelan politics. Royal Institute of Cano of International and Strategic Studies. Elcano Newsletter (84). 32 pp. ISSN 1696-3326. Venezuela.
7. Jarvie, D. (2014). Components and processes affecting the producibility and commerciality of shale resources systems. TCU Energy Institute and worldwide geochemistry. Geologica Acta, Vol.12, No.4, ALAGO, Special publication. December 2014, 307-325. DOI: 10.1344 / GeologicaActa2014.12.4.3. USES.
8. Contreras, A; I can, F. & Veziroglu, T.Nejat. (2007). Modeling and simulation of the production of hydrogen using hydroelectricity in Venezuela. International Journal of hydrogen energy 32 (2007) 1219-1224.
9. Ruckmick, John. (1963). The iron ore of Cerro Bolívar, Venezuela. Economic Geology, vol. 58, 218-236.
10. Pietrosemoli, L. & Rodríguez - Monroy, C. (2013). The impact of sustainable construction and knowledge management on sustainability goals. A review of the Venezuelan renewables energy sector. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 27, 683-691.
11. Flowers, Fabiola. & Rojas, M. (2011). Analysis of the variability of iron concentrations in the formation and recovery of bauxite piles at the Cerro Páez mine, for the period 2007-2009, Los Pijiguaos, Cedeño municipality, Bolivar State, Venezuela. Eastern University. Venezuela.
12. Lozada, J. & Arends, E. (2000). Environmental aspects of the different types of gold mining, developed in the Imataca forest reserve. Revista Forestal Latinoamericana, 15 - 27: 81 - 99.