The Collapse Of Venezuela's Imaginary Oil Currency

The petro is supposed to be backed by 5 billion barrels of oil located in Atapirire, a small town in Venezuela’s remote savanna in the middle of the country. Reserves in this region are the lynchpin of the petro, and as such, they are intended to underwrite the regime’s plan for economic recovery. But as Reuters details in a special report, the region is not only lacking in oil production, but there is no visible effort at developing oil in this area at all. More…