Declining oil production: Venezuela battles to find a solution

摘要

Falling oil production and rising consumption present Venezuela with a major problem as it moves into a new era, following the death of the country's charismatic President, Hugo Chavez, in March this year. All the signs indicate that Chavez' successor, Nicolas Maduro, will continue the policy of using the country's oil revenues to fund expensive and ambitious social programs, while doing little to ensure that revenues continue at the high levels necessary to pay for these social policies.