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New Delhi: Recently there has been a major upheaval in international politics. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been detained as part of US military action. This news has attracted the attention of the whole world, but Venezuela is in the discussion not only because of its politics. The country located in South America is very rich in natural treasures, especially the crude oil reserves. Because of this reason, the petrol prices in the Latin American country are so low that one will not be able to believe it.
One litre of petrol can be purchased at a cheaper price than one chocolate. But this is a reality in Venezuela. According to the data, the price of one liter of gasoline here ranges from 0.01 to 0.035 dollars. If it is converted into Indian currency, then this price is only Rs 1 to 3 per litre.
While in India and other countries it costs more than Rs 3000 to fill the tank of a vehicle, in Venezuela one has to spend only Rs 50 to Rs 150 to fill the fuel tank with a capacity of 35 to 50 liters.
The system of selling petrol in Venezuela is a bit different, which is called the 'Dual Fuel System'. Under this system, petrol is sold in two ways in the country. The first is subsidized petrol, which is very cheap for the general public (as mentioned above). Whereas, the second one is 'Premium Petrol'.
The prices of premium petrol are decided according to the international market and the government does not provide subsidies on this. According to the report, the price of premium petrol is around Rs 42 per litre. If a driver chooses the premium option, then he will have to pay around 20 to 25 dollars (about 1700 to 2100 rupees) to fill a 50-liter tank. This price is also much lower than in many countries of the world, but much higher than the local subsidy rate.
Venezuela's huge oil reserves are behind this cheap fuel policy. An Al Jazeera report states that by the year 2023 Venezuela had reserves of 303 billion barrels of oil. This figure is so huge that it has left behind even the oil emperors in the Middle East.
For comparison, Saudi Arabia, which is often considered synonymous with oil, is in second place with 267.2 billion barrels of oil. This is followed by Iran, which has reserves of 208.6 billion barrels and Canada at number four with 163.6 billion barrels. Despite having such huge reserves, the irony is that Venezuela is not able to earn as much from its crude oil exports as it should and the country is facing economic challenges. After the detention of President Nicolas Maduro, the international community’s eyes are on country's oil economy.
