Venezuela’s crude oil production has been on a downward trend for two decades, but has experienced significant decreases over the past two years. Crude oil production in Venezuela fell from an annual average of 3.2 million barrels per day (b/d) in 1997 to an average of 2.4 million b/d in 2015 (Figure 1). More recently, Venezuela’s crude production fell from a monthly average of 2.3 million b/d in January 2016 to 1.6 million b/d in January 2018. A combination of relatively low global crude oil prices and mismanagement of Venezuelas oil industry has led to the accelerated decline in production. Venezuela’s economy is extremely dependent on oil revenue, so the production declines are having a negative impact on the country’s finances as well. …