According to new data released by OPEC, Venezuela’s oil output in October 2017 dropped to its lowest in 28 years.
The oil-dependent economy produced only 1.863 million barrels of oil per day in October according to OPEC’s secondary sources, likely due to costs related to replace damaged equipment and other financial restrictions.
Self-reported production came in slightly higher at 1.955 million bpd.
Caracas is currently in talks with creditors to discuss the future of massive debt payments that are getting more and more difficult to meet.
To make matters worse, PDVSA has been ravaged in recent days by arrests of 8 of its senior employees and managers for cooking the books, Reuters reported.
The corruption scandal has ended the careers of roughly 25 officials, emptying out the state-run energy company’s C-suite.
Venezuela depends on the oil trade to provide over 90 % of its government revenues, which are then funneled into social welfare programs and imports of daily goods from foreign countries.
Nicolas Maduro went on state TV last week and said that he would seek a restructuring of Venezuela’s debt, but his phrasing caused some confusion.
However, he said it would be the last time it paid creditors in full, and moving forward Venezuela wanted some sort of debt relief.
«But after this payment, starting today, I decree a refinancing and a restructuring of the external debt,» Maduro said on TV. Again, the implications of this are unclear.
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