PDVSA is the Venezuelan state-owned oil company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil, as well as exploration and production of natural gas. PDVSA dominates the oil industry of Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter.

Venezuela has 3.2 trillion barrels of oil reserves. This puts Venezuela as fifth in the world in proven reserves of conventional oil. By also including an estimated 235 billion barrels of tar-like extra heavy crude oil in the Orinoco Belt region, Venezuela claims to hold the largest hydrocarbon reserves in the world. Venezuela also has 150 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. Wikipedia

PDVSA

History:

Over the six decades which separate the discovery of that first giant oil field (1914) from the legal ending of the hydrocarbons concessionary regime (1975), petroleum was present in the life of Venezuelans as the most dynamic, determinant and decisive element in the political, economic and social transformation experience by the country.

On December 31 1975, the government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez ruled the nationalization of oil industry in Venezuela, then Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) was found. On 1st January 1976, the properties, plants and equipment of the foreign concessionary companies, as well as the modest assets of the Venezuelan oil companies, became the property of the state. The Republic of Venezuela, from that moment on, and acting through a group of its own companies, plans, decides, finances, executes and controls each and every one of the activities pertaining to its oil industry.

Additional information about gas and oil history in Venezuela in Alexander's Gas & Oil Connections.

Petroleos de Venezuela

PDVSA

Alexander's Gas & Oil Connections

Wikipedia

BBC News

Gas and Oil

The Venezuelan government of Hugo Chavez has reduced Petroleos de Venezuela's previous autonomy and amended the rules regulating the country's hydrocarbons sector. In 2001, Venezuela passed a new Hydrocarbons Law that superseded the previous 1943 Hydrocarbons Law and 1975 Nationalization Law.

In 2002, many of PDVSA's managers and employees locked out workers to pressure Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez to call early elections, and virtually stopped oil production for 2 months. President Chavez fired 18,000 employees (on public television using a whistle) alleging they were "coupist". Chavez reestablished production with employees loyal to the Chávez government. Since then, Venezuela's government has been using a software with a database of persons who signed out a petition for a recall on Chavez presidency to sack workers in PDVSA. President Chavez ordered a change on the company's logo to use the red color that has been using on everything involving Venezuela's State.

PDVSA - 2002 oil strike

In 2007, Chávez announced a new nationalization of the oil industry. The foreign oil companies were forced to sign agreements giving majority control of hydrocarbons projects to PDVSA. Projects owned by companies like ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, who failed to sign these agreement, were took over by Petroleos de Venezuela.

PDVSA refinery