Venezuela opens oil industry to greater private investment

Venezuela

• Venezuela passes bill allowing private investment in its oil industry
• Private firms can now operate independently of state oil company PDVSA.
• Reform seeks foreign investment after years of US sanctions and declining output.

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Venezuela's legislature on Thursday adopted a bill that throws its oil industry open to private investors, in line with US demands following the toppling of leader Nicolas Maduro.

Lawmakers in the South American country adopted reforms to a hydrocarbons bill that roll back decades of tight state control over foreign investment in the sector.

In order to lure private capital into an industry reeling from years of US sanctions, the bill also makes the royalties regime more flexible.

"Only good things will come after the suffering," vowed National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez, brother of the country's interim president Delcy Rodriguez.

Under the legislation, private companies can independently engage in oil exploration and extraction and commercialization without having to enter joint ventures with state oil company PDVSA.

PDVSA was required to hold a majority stake under the previous arrangement.

The reform lays the ground for the triumphant return of US oil majors to the Caribbean country, less than a month after the US overthrow of Maduro.

US President Donald Trump had threatened a similar fate for Maduro's former deputy-turned successor Delcy Rodriguez if she did not give Washington access to Venezuelan crude.

Venezuela has the world's largest proven reserves of oil but output has fallen from over three million barrels per day in the early 2000s to around 1.2 million today.

The country is still under a US oil embargo, imposed by Trump in 2019.

Since toppling Maduro, the United States has also moved to take effective control of Venezuela's oil exports -- the backbone of the country's economy.

A first US-mediated sale of Venezuelan crude netted the South American country $300 million, with another $200 million held in a US-controlled account.