Venezuela’s interim president proposes oil reform
Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, proposed new oil reforms in his first state of state address since the US takeover of former president Nicolás Maduro.
Rodríguez has said he wants to reform the law limiting foreign participation in the country’s oil industry, moving away from Maduro’s policies.
He said he was not afraid to confront the US “diplomatically through political dialogue”, adding that Venezuela must defend its “honor and dignity”.
President Donald Trump said US oil companies will move into Venezuela and make money that will go to the people there and the US. a high-ranking official He said the United States would control the sale of sanctioned Venezuelan oil “indefinitely.”
Trump asks oil companies to invest at least $100bn (£75bn) in Venezuela, but an executive he said last week The country is currently “non-investable”.
Former vice president Rodríguez was sworn in on January 5 after US forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an operation in Caracas. They are being held in New York, where they have pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges.
Rodríguez said it was “very difficult” to present Maduro’s annual report to Venezuelans, saying the two worked together on the speech until six hours before Maduro was seized on Jan. 3.
Pointing out that the USA is a nuclear power, the interim president stated that he is not afraid of engaging in diplomacy and said, “As Venezuelans, we must act together to defend sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and at the same time to defend our honor and dignity.”
He said that if he had to go to Washington D.C. to meet with Trump, he would do so “by walking on his feet, not by being dragged there.”
He added that “all of Venezuela is under threat” and called for national unity to “wage the diplomatic war.”
In his speech, Rodríguez announced a proposal to reform the country’s hydrocarbon law, saying he asked the legislature to approve it.
Until now, Venezuela’s hydrocarbon law stated that foreign partners had to work with PDVSA, the country’s state-owned oil and gas company, which must own a majority stake.
Rodríguez said the reforms will allow investment to flow into new areas.
He said he had instructed his government to create two independent funds, one for social protection so that “foreign exchange money goes directly to hospitals, schools, food and housing” and the second for infrastructure and social development to invest in water, electricity and roads.
Venezuela is facing an economic crisis with a sharp rise in food prices and a decrease in purchasing power. Venezuelans before the US operation to capture Maduro They were worried about what they would eat, he told the BBC.
“We’re more worried about food. Venezuela is in bad shape. Inflation is eating us alive,” one man said.
Rodríguez’s reforms come as Trump and American investors eye the opportunity in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
Bosses of the largest US oil firms, attending a meeting at the White House last week, acknowledged that Venezuela represents an attractive opportunity.
But they said significant changes would be needed to make the area an attractive investment.
Trump said his administration will decide which companies will be allowed to operate.
“You are doing direct business with us. You have absolutely no interest in Venezuela. We do not want you to deal with Venezuela,” he said.
Trump also said that “one of the consequences of this for the United States will be further decline in energy prices.”
Venezuela has had a complicated relationship with international oil companies since the discovery of crude oil on its territory more than 100 years ago.
Chevron is the last major American oil company operating in the country.
