Venezuela’s state-owned oil company founded in 1976 was Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., commonly known as PDVSA.
PDVSA was created when Venezuela nationalized its petroleum industry on January 1, 1976, under President Carlos Andrés Pérez. The new company became the umbrella organization for the Venezuelan operating companies that replaced foreign concession holders, including subsidiaries associated with former operations by Exxon, Shell, Mobil, Gulf, and other international firms.
Its responsibilities cover oil exploration, production, refining, petroleum exports, natural gas, and petrochemicals. Because Venezuela possesses some of the world’s largest oil reserves, PDVSA quickly became central to the country’s economy and government finances.
The alternatives are national oil companies from other countries: Ecopetrol belongs to Colombia, Pemex to Mexico, and Petrobras to Brazil. PDVSA is therefore not merely a Venezuelan oil brand; it is the principal state petroleum enterprise created through the country’s 1976 nationalization.