[Htsthbjig]

Because their oil is expensive to extract.

If the price of oil extraction in Venezuela for a barrel is 60 dollars and the market price is 40(the price in Saudi Arabia is very low), you have a serious problem.

You will even have to LOOSE money in order to sustain a regular extraction, hoping the price returns to higher levels.

If you stop production, sometimes it is very expensive to restart it again, as geological forces over time close the things that you open, so you need to maintain some activity.