IRNA [Islamic Republic News Agency] argued that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, mentioning 303 billion barrels, with Iran having 157 billion and Russia with 89 billion barrels of crude, totaling 45 percent of world reserves. This represents a huge potential for influencing the world market, IRNA said, calling for cooperation between the three countries. By Mardo Soghom. Full Text->IranInternational

Traducción de cortesía -> IRNA [Agencia de Noticias de la República Islámica]argumentó que Venezuela tiene las mayores reservas de petróleo del mundo, mencionando 303 mil millones de barriles, Irán con 157 mil millones y Rusia con 89 mil millones de barriles de crudo, totalizando el 45 por ciento de las reservas mundiales. Esto representa un enorme potencial para influir en el mercado mundial, dijo IRNA, y pidió la cooperación entre los tres países.

It is speculated that if Maduro can attract the much-needed investment required to rebuild Venezuela’s petroleum infrastructure he could quite quickly, lift oil production to over one million barrels daily. That could potentially rile oversupplied global crude oil markets causing prices to plummet. By Matthew Smith. Full Text -> OilPrice

Gasoline will be sold at 5,000 bolivars (2.5 U.S. cents) per liter at gas stations nationwide starting Monday, including 200 stations that will sell premium fuel at the equivalent of 50 U.S. cents a liter, Maduro said. Gasoline will be limited to 120 liters (30 gallons) per month for each vehicle.By Fabiola Zerpa and Patricia Laya. Full Text-> Bloomberg

Some may think that Venezuela could not get any worse. But the country will get considerably poorer, while its political landscape continues to look daunting. With collapsing oil prices and COVID-19, a political transition would be rocky at best. Meanwhile, the survival of Nicolás Maduro’s regime will continue to produce an unparalleled catastrophe. By Francisco Monaldi. Full text -> Americas Quarterly

The shadow tax effectively directs a larger share of overall revenue to the government when prices fall, creating a further obstacle for private companies in the crisis-stricken OPEC nation. Full text-> Energy World

A pandemic and a seismic shift in global oil markets have shaken the country, posing a severe new test for the president just as he seemed to be tightening his hold on power. By Anatoly Kurmanaev. Full text -> The New York Times

Maduro’s regime, which has managed to cling to power more than a year after the U.S. stepped up sanctions to ban Venezuelan oil exports to the United States, now has to cope not only with the three crises but also with additional pressure from the Trump Administration. By Tsvetana Paraskova. Full Price -> Oil Price

The virus and oil price war could reduce Venezuela’s oil revenue by more than 66 percent, according to Ecoanalitica.

The change of ownership means any future U.S. sanctions on Russian-controlled oil operations in Venezuela would target the Russian government directly. By Timothy Gardner and Darya Korsunskaya. Full text -> Financial Post

Prior to the current oil price war, PDVSA had been offering benchmark Merey Crude at discounts of between $16 to $18 per barrel to Brent as a way of enticing buyers to run the risk of breaking the US sanctions. By Mitchell McGeorge. Full text -> Oil price