Venezuela's effort to revive its oil industry faces a critical obstacle: a shortage of skilled workers after decades of economic collapse and political turmoil drove thousands of engineers, geologists and technicians abroad, a new report details.
Oil output has fallen from more than 3 million barrels per day in 2002 to under 1 million today, according to industry estimates cited by Bloomberg. The collapse followed years of underinvestment, political purges and infrastructure deterioration at state-run Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA). Rebuilding the sector could require as much as $100 billion in investment.
