South America's desperados
Latin America's two Opec members needed the deal to cut and Venezuela will probably shed even more output than it agreed
Perhaps no Opec member went into the group's November meeting needing a deal as badly as Venezuela. After years of economic mismanagement, only higher crude prices will help to alleviate a cash crunch that has crippled Venezuela's economy and almost pushed its state oil company to the brink of financial ruin (see our longer report on Venezuela). Eulogio del Pino, the head of state company PdV and the country's oil minister at the time, relentlessly toured oil capitals over the past two years, trying to make the most of his country's dwindling influence within Opec to piece together a deal. In the end, Vienna was a victory lap. Venezuela's contribution to the deal will be a 95,000-barrel-day
Also in this section
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
3 March 2026
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in US–Israeli strikes marks the most serious escalation in the region in decades and a bigger potential threat to the oil market than the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis
2 March 2026
A potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the escalating US-Iran conflict risks disrupting Qatari LNG exports that underpin global gas markets, exposing Asia and other markets to sharp price spikes, cargo shortages and renewed reliance on dirtier fuels
