Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1975, creating the national company PDVSA.
The Venezuelan government passed the Organic Law that reserved the petroleum industry to the state, and Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., began operations on January 1, 1976. Existing foreign and private operating interests were reorganized under the new state-owned company.
PDVSA became responsible for exploration, production, refining and marketing. Venezuela’s oil sector had already developed into one of the world’s most important after major discoveries in the Maracaibo Basin and the eastern Orinoco region.
This nationalization is sometimes mixed up with Mexico’s 1938 oil expropriation, which led to Pemex. Venezuela’s 1975 policy created PDVSA, while Mexico’s earlier action created a different national oil company.