OPEC Member Goes Socialist, Forced to Import Oil

Socialism has done wonders for Venezuela.

There were the food riots, widespread hungers, shortages of everything, inflation making its currency worthless, hospitals left without medication and schools left without teachers because they’re busy waiting on line to buy food.

I’ve chronicled many of those over the years. But now Berniestan has hit Peak Socialism. Despite being an OPEC member, it’s importing oil.

Despite having the greatest oil reserves in the world, Venezuela’s government is being forced to spend millions of dollars a day importing crude to prop up its ailing industry.

Petrol remains the only cheap commodity left in Venezuela amid the collapse of most of its economy, but the oil industry is now also struggling to meet basic domestic demands.

In 2016, with its own industry failing to deliver, Venezuela imported diluents for the first time in its history. In the two years since, those imports have grown to as many as 200,000 barrels a day, mostly from the US, according to Francisco Monaldi, fellow in Latin American energy policy at Rice University in Texas.

“One of the craziest things is that a part of Venezuela’s imports is for the domestic market, but given its price, they practically give gasoline away for free. They are importing barrels that cost $80 to $90 and selling them at $0.”

Venezuela’s oil industry is collapsing badly. And the military takeover hasn’t helped.

See the full story here.

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