Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world, in large part because of the heavy oil reserves in the Orinoco Oil Basin. In addition to oil reserves, Venezuela has sizeable natural gas reserves, although the development of natural gas lags significantly behind that of oil. However, in the wake of political and economic instability in the country, crude oil production has dramatically decreased, reaching a multi-decades low in mid-2018. Venezuela, a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is an important participant in the global oil market. It ranked among the top 15 producers of oil and liquid fuels in 2017, but its output has fallen significantly since global crude oil prices fell from their peak in mid-2014. The production declines have been especially acute since mid-2016, with Venezuela’s crude oil output falling by 755,000 barrels per day (b/d) […]