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Iraq shakes up rankings of oil nations. Who's on top?

When Iraq raised its estimate of proven oil reserves Monday, the world had to revise the list of nations with the most reserves. Not counting Canada's oil sands, here's a look at the new Top 5 nations:

2. Venezuela: 172.3 billion barrels

Jorge Silva/Reuters/File
Oil workers are seen at an oil field in Cabimas in Venezuela's western state of Zulia, near Lake Maracaibo, in this 2008 file photo. Venezuela sits on the second-largest oil reserves in the world, but its production has slipped because of a lack of investment.

  • By Laurent Belsie

Authoritarian Venezuela remains the world's No. 2 nation in terms of oil reserves. But its oil production has declined slightly because the nationalized industry has not had sufficient investment to develop new oil fields. (This tally does not include Canada's oil sands.)

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