Chávez’s Questionable Oil Figures Are Now Trump’s to Tout (1)

On paper, Venezuela has enough oil reserves to maintain production at current levels for more than 800 years, an enticing prospect for the White House as it pushes Big Oil to get the petrostate gushing again.

But the South American nation’s claim that it sits atop more than 300 billion barrels, 17% of the world’s total and surpassing even Saudi Arabia, has long been questioned by some industry experts — including the very firm hired to help evaluate the resource under the late socialist icon Hugo Chávez. More realistic estimates peg Venezuela’s reserves at around a third or less ...