The great comeback of the oilmen? Venezuela opens the door to giants and privatizes oil

Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez has signed a bill that opens the country's oil sector to private companies. This is a retreat from the nationalization policy pursued by socialist governments in Caracas for over 20 years.

The adopted reform will undoubtedly be a flagship element of the Rodriguez government's policy, said the AP agency. The new regulations are intended to attract foreign investments to help the oil sector, which is key to the country's economy, out of the deep crisis.

Rodriguez, who took over as head of state in early January after the capture of Nicolas Maduro by US special forces, signed the bill on Thursday evening, a few hours after it was adopted by parliament. Discussions on the project and approval of the reform took less than two weeks.

At the same time, the administration of US President Donald Trump began to ease sanctions on Venezuelan crude oil and expand the ability of American companies to operate in Venezuela.

Trump said on Thursday that he spoke with Rodriguez and announced he would open airspace over Venezuela. The US president announced its closure at the end of November as part of pressure on the Maduro regime.

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, but many foreign companies have withdrawn from the country as state control tightens over the sector. Production has declined significantly due to lack of investment and maintenance of decaying infrastructure.

In the 1990s, when Hugo Chavez was president of Venezuela, the government in Caracas expropriated the assets of foreign companies, including American Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, which, after years of court disputes, have still not received full compensation. Since 2006, there has been a requirement for the state-owned company PDVSA to be the majority shareholder in each oil project. (PAP)

wia/ ap/