Caracas: Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday evening he was seeking financing to counter a dramatic fall in oil prices that have hurt the cash-strapped OPEC country but did not provide further details.

“We’re looking for resources,” he said during a speech to unveil a plan to combat Venezuela’s recession and shortages of everything from toilet paper and flour to certain medicines.

“We’re dedicated, 24 hours a day every day, to looking.... so that the country can function,” added Maduro, who visited a half dozen countries including China during a nearly two-week tour earlier this month.

With oil prices down by more than half since mid-2014, Venezuela’s economic crisis has hit Maduro’s popularity hard and hiked pressure on the government to find fresh funds.

Venezuela’s oil export basket closed at $38.50 per barrel on Tuesday, Maduro said, down from an average of $88.42 in 2014.

Last week he said he was shaking up complex currency controls and also prepared Venezuelans for a rise in the world’s cheapest fuel prices to shore up the economy.

But details have been scarce and economists have panned lack of major structural changes. Many are pushing for an end to currency controls they pinpoint as the root of Venezuela’s economic woes.

“The bourgeoisie says the solution is that I free prices,” Maduro said on Tuesday in reference to price controls on everything from toothpaste to gasoline that have fueled lucrative smuggling.

Separately, Maduro said state oil company PDVSA’s new board had started working today. “They’ve already shown me their new plans,” he said. “PDVSA is advancing to a new stage.”