Venezuelan lawmakers have approved changes to national petroleum laws to make it easier for foreign companies to participate in the country’s oil industry
US President
Donald Trump said on Saturday that
India will purchase Venezuelan oil in place of Iranian crude, adding that China could also reach an agreement with the
United States to buy supplies from Venezuela. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while travelling from Washington to Florida, Trump said, “We’ve already made that deal — the concept of the deal.”
Trump added, “China is welcome to come in and make a great deal on oil.”
Venezuelan legislators, last month, passed a law change intended to make it easier for foreign companies to take part in the country’s oil industry, a move by Caracas aimed at meeting the demands of Trump. The reform, supported by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, will open up the Venezuelan oil sector, which is largely controlled by state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and allow foreign companies to manage oilfields at their own risk and cost.
Policy shift to attract investment
Since the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro at the start of January, Washington has made clear its intention to attract American firms to invest in Venezuela’s oil industry. Venezuela has more proven oil reserves than any nation on the planet, and Rodriguez said the new law could help the country maximise profits from them.
“This law allows us to make a true historic qualitative leap to turn those oil reserves, the largest on the planet, into the greatest happiness a people can have, with the Venezuelan people as the rightful owners of that happiness,” she said to a crowd celebrating the reform.
National Assembly leader Jorge Rodríguez, the brother of the acting president, said the changes will “boost the energy sector, promoting oil production in undeveloped fields.” The reform ends long-standing restrictions that limited foreign participation and is aimed at drawing in capital and expertise to expand output.
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