Venezuela's Oil Fantasy

The Venezuelan state news agency posted a triumphant story today about how exactly 14 years ago, Hugo Chávez appointed new directors to PDVSA, thus defeating the imperialist right. Incredibly, it goes on to say:

A catorce años del sabotaje criminal, y gracias a la consolidación de un sistema democrático, la industria petrolera ha experimentado un proceso de transformación que le ha permitido continuar la exploración, explotación y comercialización de crudo, y contribuir a la vez con el desarrollo de programas sociales para atender las necesidades de la población.

Quick translation: "Fourteen years since the criminal sabotage, and thanks to the consolidation of a democratic system, the oil industry has experienced a transformational process that has allowed it to continue the exploration, exploitation, and commercialization of crude, and to contribute at the same time to the development of social program to address the needs of the people."

Now, do me a favor and Google "PDVSA." There will be a lot there, but just go ahead and click on a few. The Reuters one looks interesting:

Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA, has fallen months behind on shipments of crude and fuel under oil-for-loan deals with China and Russia, according to internal company documents reviewed by Reuters.

Or maybe Bloomberg:

The recent bump in oil prices isn’t enough to help Petroleos de Venezuela SA as it faces its fourth consecutive year of declining production. 

The company’s crude output is expected to fall this year as it failed to raise cash for investments and after Venezuela agreed to cut 95,000 barrels a day for six months as part of a deal struck by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other non-members to lift oil prices, analysts say. Even the recent increase in oil prices, following the cuts, aren’t enough to ease the company’s financial burden, Lucas Aristizabal, a senior director at FitcTh Ratings, said.

Basically, it's difficult to find anything that provides even a remotely positive view of PDVSA and its future (that Google search even finds criticism from the left). It will soon be financially incapable of contributing to much of anything.