Venezuela's oil reserves swell to 130 bln barrels

Venezuela's proven crude oil reserves had swelled to 130 billion barrels as of late April, marking a rise of 30 billion from its prior estimate, energy and oil minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday. Ramirez, who also runs Venezuela's state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), made the announcement at a regional energy summit as world oil prices continued to strike record highs. 'As of April 2008 we have increased by 30 billion barrels of oil our additional proven crude reserves' north of the Orinoco River, Ramirez said.