Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, expects a significant increase in investment in the country's oil industry this year. This comes after a bill aimed at ending decades of tight state control over Venezuela's huge oil sector is expected to be passed in the coming days.
- Last year, investments amounted to almost $900 million, and for this year, investments worth $1.4 billion have been signed, Rodríguez said.
The planned reforms to the country's oil industry are aimed at attracting foreign investment after the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro.
He was removed from power in early January by US special forces, who in a major operation captured Maduro and his wife and brought them to the United States. Here they await trial - accused of drug-related crimes.
A majority in Venezuela's National Assembly voted last week to remove the country's restrictions on private investment in the oil sector. It was a first reading, and the bill is expected to be finally adopted soon.
According to Delcy Rodríguez, oil investment in Venezuela will increase by 55 percent compared to 2025.
The interim leader of the South American country is under pressure from US President Donald Trump to give American oil giants access to Venezuela's valuable subsoil.
Trump has supported Rodríguez, even though she was Maduro's vice president, on the condition that she follows the US president's agenda.
Venezuela's oil reserves are the world's largest, and the country holds about a fifth of the world's total reserves. However, the country only extracts barely one percent of the oil extracted globally.
- We must go from being the country with the world's largest oil reserves to being a giant measured in terms of production, says Delcy Rodríguez.
The law, which is expected to be passed in Venezuela soon, stipulates that private companies based in Venezuela will be able to extract oil without having to cooperate with the state energy company PDVSA.
It has long been a requirement that all oil extraction should be done in conjunction with the state oil company. It was the then socialist president Hugo Chávez who nationalized the oil industry in 2007.
/ritzau/AFP
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