The latest news from the past few days indicates that Abu Dhabi entities have set their sights on Venezuela’s hydrocarbon sector. Reuters and Bloomberg indicated that ADNOC, via its investment arm XRG, could be entering the Latin American country. Details are still unclear, but it’s worthwhile to address them already. At present, the situation in Venezuela is still rife with uncertainty, instability, and sanctions. For most interested parties, especially investors, Venezuela remains shorthand for everything that can go wrong in an oil state. In recent years, the country has been faced with sanctions that mutate faster than contracts, a vast patronage machine that hollows out institutions, and political instability at its peak. At the same time, its hydrocarbon reserves are mainly stranded by misrule.