Caracas announced international investments in the oil sector from companies such as Petrobras, Ecopetrol, Indian Oil and Shell
Venezuela announced on Monday (11/27/2023) that it has reached agreements with 8 multinational oil companies to increase oil production in the region. The trial is the result of the United States temporarily easing energy sanctions against the country. The information comes from El País.
In October, US President Joe Biden’s administration eased sanctions imposed during the Donald Trump administration on Venezuela’s oil and gas industry in response to the electoral agreement between President Nicolás Maduro’s government and the opposition.
According to the agreement, Maduro should ensure a free, verifiable electoral process for the presidential elections without restrictions on candidacies. The pact also included an amnesty for more than 300 political prisoners. In return, the government committed to holding elections in the second half of 2024 and released five political opponents imprisoned in the country.
With the reduction of sanctions, companies such as Repsol, Eni, Maurel and Prom, China Petroleum, Indian Oil, Shell, Mitsubishi, Ecopetrol, Petrobras and Reliance are involved in joint oil and gas projects in Venezuela. In addition, international contractors such as Halliburton, Baker and Hughes and Schlumberger are returning to Venezuelan fields.
The restoration of direct agreements with the Americans and the lifting of restrictions on Venezuela’s oil and gas industry will allow the country to sell its oil without the previous discounts, which reached 40%.
Currently, Venezuela’s daily oil production is 800,000 barrels, much less than the historic 3 million barrels per day. With the special license from the oil company Chevron, experts predict an increase in production to around 1.2 million by 2024.
The country also plans to shift sales directly to the US without discounts, with the aim of recovering government revenue and pursuing economic expansion after the 2018 crisis and weak performance in 2023.
Even with the temporary suspension of sanctions, differences between Caracas and Washington remain. The reason for this was noncompliance with parts of the election agreement, as US authorities explained. Of particular note is Chavismo’s reluctance to allow opposition leader María Corina Machado, who is leading in opinion polls, to take part in next year’s presidential elections.
The U.S. has given Maduro until the end of November to lift restrictions on all opposition presidential candidates and release political prisoners and Americans unjustly imprisoned in the country, according to a statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.