OIL STAFF QUIT VENEZUELA

OIL companies are pulling out of crisis-stricken Venezuela.

Repsol, Chevron and Total are withdrawing employees, Bloomberg has said. Norway’s Statoil ASA has also withdrawn foreign staff.

OPEC member Venezuela is having trouble paying back creditors, with its economy struggling under the weight of triple-digit inflation and shortages of food and medicine.

The deterioration of the oil industry is particularly problematic for the country, which relies on the sector for 95pc of exports.

It is home to the world’s largest oil reserves but state-owned firm PDVSA is coming apart at the seams.

Political appointees were replacing executives at the firm, while Venezuela’s oil production is on track to end 2017 at a 25-year low.

Russian oil firm Rosneft said yesterday it was sticking with investment plans in the country.

103 years since the first oil well in Venezuela was completed (on the eastern shores of Lake Maracaibo) 302bn barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela, compared to 266bn in Saudi Arabia 2.37mbarrels of crude oil produced per day, according to...