The dramatic changes in Venezuela’s oil sector since Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999 have rendered PdVSA almost unrecognisable from its market-oriented incarnation in the 1990s.

The oil group is now an instrument of Mr Chavez’s socialist “revolution”, which relies heavily on PdVSA’s funds – while the fortunes of PdVSA itself are equally dependent on the whims of the country’s radical president.