Venezuela passes energy reforms in bid to 'maintain sovereignty' over oil resources
The White House has vowed to retain control of Venezeula's oil revenues, holding them in an offshore account in Qatar
Venezuela's National Assembly approved a new law on 30 January, opening the country's oil and gas sector to private companies, amid pressure from Washington following the kidnapping of President Nicholas Maduro earlier this month by US special forces.
Venezuela's interim President, Delcy Rodriguez, stated on Thursday that the Hydrocarbons Law Reform reaffirms "sovereignty over our energy resources."
The legislative initiative was unanimously approved by Venezuela's National Assembly, with the aim of regulating all aspects of the exploration, extraction, commercialization, and comprehensive use of the country's crude oil.
"This law allows us to make a real qualitative leap in converting oil reserves into the greatest reserves of happiness," Rodriguez stated.
The partial reform of the Organic Hydrocarbons Law amends 18 articles of the legal framework governing the national oil industry.
teleSUR reported that, according to Venezuela's government, the reform "responds to the need to modernize the energy sector, attract technological investment and capital, and reactivate production after years of unilateral coercive measures imposed against the South American country."
Interim President Rodriguez stated on Thursday that she received a call from US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding "important steps toward ending restrictions on Venezuela's commercial airspace."
Rodriguez became Venezuela's interim president after President Trump ordered US troops to abduct President Maduro and his wife in a special operation that killed at least 100 people.
Commenting on the new oil law, AP wrote that it "opens the nation's oil sector to privatization, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades."
"The reform will undoubtedly be her government's signature policy as it positions the oil sector – Venezuela's engine – to lure the foreign investment needed to revamp" an industry long crippled by US sanctions, the news agency added.
The legislation will give private companies control over the production and sale of oil, ending the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) monopoly over those activities.
A private company "will assume full management of the activities at its own expense, account, and risk, after demonstrating its financial and technical capacity through a business plan approved by" the nation's Oil Ministry, according to the law.
While production and distribution will be privatized, the law ensures the Venezuelan state will retain ownership of the country's vast oil and gas reserves, which are thought to be the world's third-largest.
The new law also allows disputes between oil firms and the state to be settled by independent arbitrators rather than Venezuelan courts, which foreign investors view as crucial to guard against future expropriation.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington plans to maintain full control over Venezuela's oil industry. This includes control of revenues from the sale of Venezuelan crude, which are currently held in an offshore account in Qatar.
Rubio said the White House would eventually transfer the funds to "a US Treasury blocked account in the United States" that would continue to allow Trump to dictate how the funds are spent.
The Venezuelan government would have to request the use of those funds, while Washington would decide whether to release them, he said.
Rubio boasted that this will ensure Venezuelan oil profits will be spent on US-made goods, from basic foodstuffs to chemicals for oil refineries, rather than in Russia or to pay interest on loans to China.