Venezuela

Sand Origin

Playa Guabina, outside Turiamo

Random Sand Fact

Sand in Venezuela hides and holds a treasure unlike any other nation – the biggest oil reserve in the world!

Millions of years ago, plants and animals died, and layers of sand covered them. Fast forward millions of years, and heat and pressure have transformed them into oil. Oil trapped between the grains of sand, similar to how a sponge absorbs water.

Extracting the oil isn’t as simple as pumping or scooping it out. The Orinoco Belt is like an underground cave, with meandering bodies of sand between layers of rock. The extra thick, heavy crude oils mixed in with the sand. 

A sandy vault!

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