Research Library

The outlook for the Venezuelan oil industry and the broader economic and political challenges facing the country are intrinsically linked. This report summarizes possible political and economic scenarios, as well as potential next steps for the country, discussed during a workshop convened by Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy.

The economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela took a turn for the worse in the second half of 2017. Declines in oil production and exports are accelerating. The government has fallen behind in debt payments, past the grace period in several cases. This report summarizes some key takeaways from an expert workshop convened by Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy to appraise these alarming developments.

The Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Qatar Leadership Centre hosted a roundtable on February 15-16, 2017, in Doha, Qatar, to discuss some of the most pressing challenges facing market participants in the global energy landscape, with a focus on several issues of paramount interest to Qatar and the broader Gulf Cooperation Council.

View fellow Francisco Monaldi's assessment of the road ahead for Venezuela, a country rich in oil and gas that President Nicolás Maduro has led into economic dysfunction and crisis. Monaldi's comments in English are followed by the interview in Spanish. 

The development of the petroleum sector has been characterized by a succession of cycles of investment and expropriation that have been particularly pronounced in Latin America. This paper analyzes the causes of these cycles and the lessons that can be derived and applied during the implementation of the petroleum reform in Mexico.

U.S. policy should facilitate and support investment in Latin America’s oil and gas sectors, which would contribute to energy security and support economic integration with Mexico and Latin America, writes fellow Francisco J. Monaldi.

This paper examines the cash flow and financial issues affecting Venezuela’s PDVSA, as well as the operational challenges facing the country’s oil industry.

Colombians on Sunday (10/2) voted against a peace deal with FARC negotiated by President Juan Manuel Santos. What are the potential ramifications of the vote, and the prospects for resolving the country's decades-long confict with the rebel group?

In this paper, the author weighs the difficulties facing Venezuela in light of its dependence on oil export revenues.