Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado pushes for energy investment security, transparency
Written by: Marianna Parraga and Nathan Crooks
HOUSTON, March 24 (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told Reuters on Tuesday that early interest in Venezuela’s oil sector was positive but called for greater transparency and contract security, including a new oil law, to further increase crude and gas production in the South American country.
In January, Venezuela’s National Assembly approved a sweeping reform of the country’s main oil law following the US takeover of President Nicolas Maduro this year. The new law gives foreign producers the autonomy to exploit and export the OPEC nation’s oil, but many companies have said more changes are needed to meet US President Donald Trump’s goal of attracting $100 billion in investment.
“I’m here to draw attention to Venezuela, not to delay it,” he said in an interview before speaking Tuesday afternoon at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.
Machado said Venezuela could eventually produce as much as 5 million barrels of oil per day and that $150 billion in investment would be needed. But in the long term, investors need respect for the rule of law, independent institutions and agreements in Venezuela; Machado says that when there is a presidential election in the country, it will be provided by a new government.
Meanwhile, he said, Washington should monitor oil revenues to prevent corruption or abuse. Since January, the United States has controlled oil revenues through bank accounts managed by the Treasury Department, and interim President Delcy Rodriguez’s Venezuelan administration has been working to restore production to the 1.2 million barrels per day it produced before a strict U.S. oil blockade was imposed to pressure Maduro.
As some investors begin traveling to Caracas to evaluate new investments in the country, ConocoPhillips thinks more needs to be done before oil majors agree to develop major new projects. The company left Venezuela after its assets were nationalized in 2007 and still owes around $12 billion.
Speaking at CERAWeek on Tuesday, CEO Ryan Lance said Venezuela needs to “completely restructure” its financial system and called recent reforms “woefully inadequate.”
Even Chevron, the only U.S. oil giant currently operating in Venezuela, wants additional legislation. “There are still things that need to be done to encourage investment at the scale that people want to see,” CEO Mike Wirth said at the same conference on Monday.
Spanish energy group Repsol plans to triple its gross crude production in Venezuela to 150,000 barrels per day over the next three years, it said on the sidelines of the conference on Tuesday.
