page_title: PDVSA
section_title: Overseas assets
hierarchical_section_title: PDVSA / Overseas assets
caption_attribution_description: English: The Citgo sign sitting on the Boston University Bookstore Mall. It was photographed from Lansdowne St. in Boston, MA.
context_page_description: Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. is the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil as well as exploration and production of natural gas. Since its founding on 1 January 1976 with the nationalization of the Venezuelan oil industry, PDVSA has dominated the oil industry of Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter.
  Oil reserves in Venezuela are the largest in the world and the state-owned PDVSA provides the government of Venezuela with substantial funding resources. Following the Bolivarian Revolution, PDVSA was mainly used as a political tool of the government. Profits were also used to assist the presidency, with funds directed towards allies of the Venezuelan government.
  With PDVSA focusing on political projects instead of oil production, mechanical and technical statuses deteriorated while employee expertise was removed following thousands of politically-motivated firings. Incompetence within the company has led to serious inefficiencies and accidents as well as endemic corruption.
context_section_description: Citgo Petroleum Corporation, United States – Citgo is 100% owned by PDVSA.
  Nynäs Petroleum, Sweden – PDVSA owns a 50% stake with Finland's Neste Oil Oyj holding the other 50%.
  BOPEC, Bonaire petroleum corporation 100% owned by PDVSA.
  Isla refinery, Curaçao – PDVSA leases the Isla Refinery on the island, though it intends to end its lease at the end of 2019. The refinery has been operating at below capacity for at least two years, due to maintenance problems and difficulty supplying crude oil as third parties attempt to legally seize oil shipments in lieu of payment by Venezuela.
  PDVSA acquired a minority stake in the Jamaican state-owned oil refinery in 2006.
  PDVSA has offices in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, China, Cuba, Spain and Netherlands.
caption: The Citgo sign as seen from Lansdowne St., Boston
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