Chevron to stay in Venezuela as inflation tops 830,000%
American energy giant Chevron says it is not considering pulling its operations from Venezuela, despite years of weathering the country’s political and economic problems.
After The Wall Street Journal published a report that executives at the second-largest U.S. oil company are mulling whether it is time to exit the poverty-stricken country as its economic crisis deepens, Chevron’s regional executive said during an interview that it is “committed to Venezuela” and plans to be there “for many years to come.”
The company is the last U.S. oil company in the country and has been operating there for nearly 100 years. It is one of the largest foreign investors there.
Earlier this year, Chevron reportedly evacuated executives from Venezuela after President Nicolás Maduro’s government arrested two employees. Venezuela has defaulted on more than $6 billion in payments, as reported by the Journal.
The United Nations said on Wednesday that 3 million people have left the country throughout recent years as the economic and political conditions have deteriorated. Food shortages, rampant inflation and widespread violence remain serious challenges for residents.
Earlier this week, the opposition-controlled Congress published a report stating that the inflation rate rose more than 833,997 percent over the past year, as reported by Reuters. Month over month, consumer prices rose 148 percent.
The International Monetary Fund cautions inflation could reach 10 million percent next year.
The country’s central bank stopped publishing economic data about three years ago.