Venezuela Shakes Up PDVSA Management As Oil Production Tanks

Venezuela is tapping at least five new top executives to state oil company PDVSA, six sources said on Oct. 17, but the changes are unlikely to halt the unraveling of the OPEC member’s oil industry under military management.

The new executives are relative unknowns in the energy sector, with at least one of the appointees hailing from the military, according to industry sources briefed on the shake-up. PDVSA President Manuel Quevedo, a general under whom production has fallen to a six-decade low since he was appointed late last year, was ratified, however.