So where are the last great oil reserves?

Two of them lay much nearer to home than many people may realize.  Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt is estimated to contain up to 235 billion barrels of recoverable oil but a good old clash between Hugo Chavez’s leftist politics and the capitalist interests of Chevron et al, has staunched the flow to 2.2 million barrels per day from what was once 3.5 million. 

North of the border, Canada’s Athabasca tar sands contain similar reserves.  Now that the price of oil can justify the expense of upgrading the tar sands the major remaining issues concern human capital and infrastructure. Still by 2020 the tar sands are expected to produce 5 million barrels per day.