Write a short note on the distribution of minerals in South America.
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Answer:
Large quantities of oil and natural gas are found in several areas within South America. The greatest quantities are located in the sedimentary layers surrounding Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo and the adjacent Caribbean coastal margin. Venezuela also has major deposits of oil and natural gas in the area surrounding El Tigre. The country is one of the world’s largest oil producers and exporters. The Venezuelan government’s seizure of operational control of foreign-owned private oil operations in 2007 had important implications for the region. That same year, the natural gas reserves and oil industry of Bolivia (centred in the eastern lowlands around Santa Cruz) were nationalized. Since 1972, Ecuador has also been a major oil exporter, exploiting fields in the Amazonian region east of the Andes. Oil fields were brought into production in the early 1970s in the Peruvian portion of the Amazon basin west of Iquitos. Argentina and Chile share significant deposits bordering the Strait of Magellan in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Additionally, Argentina has traditional oil-producing regions around the Patagonian city of Comodoro Rivadavia. Brazil has limited offshore oil and gas reserves. Colombia has long been self-sufficient in oil and gas production, with primary areas in the central Magdalena River valley and the Putumayo area adjacent to its border with Ecuador.