Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. | Introduction
Introduction
Edif. Petróleos de Venezuela
Avenida Libertador, La Campiña
Apartado Postal 169
Caracas, 1010-A
Venezuela
Telephone: (212) 708-4111
Fax: (212) 708 4661
Web site: http://www.pdvsa.com.ve
State-Owned Company
Incorporated: 1976
Employees: 46,920
Sales: $46.25 billion (2001)
NAIC: 211111 Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas Extraction; 211112 Natural Gas Liquid Extraction; 213111 Drilling Oil and Gas Wells
Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) is wholly owned by the Venezuelan state and is the holding company for the national petroleum industry. PDVSA has proved reserves of 77.2 billion barrels of oil—the largest proved reserves outside of the Middle East. Along with its domestic exploration and production business, the company has refining and marketing operations in the Caribbean, Europe, and the United States. Its CITGO Petroleum subsidiary supplies gasoline to retail locations across the United States. The company has experienced turmoil in recent years due to the leadership of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. A labor strike in 2002 led to serious losses in oil production and more than 18,000 employees were fired as a result. Rafael Ramirez was named president of PDVSA in 2004.