NTV Dünya18 minutes agoBusiness1 min readTürkiye

US-backed company takes control of Venezuelan oil

The transition to private investments in the facilities in Lake Maracaibo and the oil agreements made with the USA are at the center of criticism.

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Venezuela opened its facilities in Lake Maracaibo to private investment.
Multibillion-dollar oil agreements with the USA attract the opposition's reaction with their lack of transparency and neo-colonialism allegations.

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Why It Matters

Venezuela's oil industry has experienced a gradual collapse since the Chavez era. The current administration opened the sector to private investment under US pressure.

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According to the news of the French AFP agency, the company invited the press the other day to tour its facilities in Lake Maracaibo, one of the richest reserves in the world.

Located in the town of Bachaquero in the northwestern part of the country, the worksite is brimming with new materials, mostly imported from the United States.

At nearby Ciudad Ojeda, workers' uniforms blend with the dark blue company logo printed throughout the office.

The dark blue color brought to mind the state-owned company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) until 1999.

That year, Socialist President Hugo Chavez changed the company's color to red to symbolize the "new PDVSA" era.

To reach one of the platforms on Lake Maracaibo, it is necessary to travel by boat for more than an hour from the PDVSA pier in Bachaquero.

The old and neglected infrastructure on the lake reveals the gradual collapse of the oil industry under the Chavista government.

Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, came to power after US forces kidnapped his predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, in January.

Rodríguez, who rules the country under intense pressure from US President Donald Trump, opened the mining, electricity and oil sectors to private investment in line with Trump's request.

The multibillion-dollar oil deal between the two countries was criticized for its secret terms and neo-colonial approach.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who recently returned from exile, questioned the lack of transparency of the agreement.

"This agreement does not reflect the level of transparency that the Venezuelan society wants," Machado said in a statement last month.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who visited Caracas to supervise the signing of the agreements, rejected allegations that Washington "stole Venezuelan oil".

"I saw those headlines: 'We're stealing Venezuelan oil,'" Wright said. "Of course, this is not true at all," he said.

The US minister added, "The owner of the oil in Venezuela is truly the Venezuelan people."

Open Questions

What are the confidential terms of the agreements?
Can private investment stop infrastructure collapse?

US-backed company takes control of Venezuelan oil

The transition to private investments in the facilities in Lake Maracaibo and the oil agreements made with the USA are at the center of criticism.

Quick Look

Venezuela opened its facilities in Lake Maracaibo to private investment.
Multibillion-dollar oil agreements with the USA attract the opposition's reaction with their lack of transparency and neo-colonialism allegations.