Matthew Aks from Evercore ISI points out a critical bottleneck: Venezuela's massive oil reserves won't attract serious institutional capital until the country undergoes significant economic restructuring. It's not just about geological potential—investors are waiting for the macro fundamentals to align. Think about it: before capital flows into energy infrastructure and extraction, the broader economy needs stabilization. Political risk, currency stability, regulatory clarity—these are the table stakes. Only then does the investment thesis for unlocking those vast reserves become compelling. It's a reminder that even hard assets backed by real commodities depend on the surrounding economic ecosystem to unlock their value.