Why fixing Venezuela’s oil industry is the only way to usher in a new erahttps://nypost.com/2026/01/06/world-news/venezuelas-oil-industry-is-in-shambles-after-decades-of-socialism/President Trump has made clear he wants to revitalize Venezuela’s oil industry so he can use the cash to make the country great again — but the sector is in shambles after decades of plunder, talent flight and negligence as a result of socialist rule.
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Production has plummeted since hitting a high in 1997 — and the country produced just 900,000 barrels of oil per day in 2024, about 6% of what the US puts out.
Additionally, the oil companies’ holdings were nationalized and seized twice — once in 1976 and again by Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, in 2007.
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By 1997, Venezuela’s oil production peaked at 3.5 million barrels, but a massive decline followed a decade later when Chavez nationalized the industry again.
After Maduro took over in 2013 and Venezuela was hit with harsh sanctions from the US, production plummeted, with the next 10 years seeing a staggering decrease.
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The Venezuelan national oil company, known as PDVSA, has been criticized for the failing petrol production, with the company lacking the necessary money and expertise to increase output, according to the London-based Energy Aspects research firm.
Venezuela’s oil fields are effectively run down and plagued by “years of insufficient drilling, dilapidated infrastructure, frequent power cuts and equipment theft,” the research firm said.
Restoring Venezuela’s oil industry would require an enormous investment, with Energy Aspects estimating that just adding 500,000 barrels a day of production would take two years and cost about $10 billion.
If, in a couple of years, Venezuela's oil production increases, the increase in world supply would, ummmm, be unappreciated by Putin. Not that
Russia-Russia-Russia-type Trump-Haters would admit this.
