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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Economy & Trade

Leopoldo Martínez: Venezuela-US oil deal could drive the country’s recovery

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources New plan
  • Leopoldo Martínez says a recently announced Venezuela-US oil agreement could help revive Venezuela’s energy industry and support reconstruction.
  • The reported plan would develop 17 oil fields, with potential reserves estimated at 65 billion barrels and projected investment of more than $100 billion.
  • Martínez says the deal needs clear rules on financing, operations, production sharing and the legal relationship among private operators, the two governments and PDVSA.

Leopoldo Martínez Nucete argues that Venezuela has mistaken sovereignty for leaving its oil underground. In his view, true sovereignty means creating rules that turn natural resources into prosperity, including through partnerships with international companies.

The former National Assembly member and president of the Center for Democracy and Development in the Americas is examining an oil agreement announced by Venezuela and the United States. He says the arrangement could offer a path to restoring Venezuela’s energy industry and producing revenue for national reconstruction.

Venezuela has confused maintaining its sovereignty with leaving its oil underground.

— Leopoldo Martínez NuceteMartínez criticizes Venezuela’s approach to its oil resources and argues for rules that enable investment.

The transaction’s full details have not yet been disclosed. Reports described by Martínez point to a long-term energy partnership covering 17 oil fields with an estimated potential of 65 billion barrels. The Venezuelan government estimates that the project could attract more than $100 billion in investment and generate about $209 billion in taxes.

True sovereignty consists of establishing rules that turn those resources into prosperity for Venezuelans, including with international partners.

— Leopoldo Martínez NuceteHe explains why he views international participation as compatible with Venezuelan sovereignty.

Martínez says Venezuela would retain ownership of the reserves, while the United States would receive a majority share of the oil produced from the fields. He says key questions remain over who will finance and operate the projects, how production will be divided, and how private operators would relate legally to Washington and Petróleos de Venezuela.

He also highlights a proposed reform of Venezuela’s Hydrocarbons Law to allow production-sharing contracts. Such a mechanism, he says, could bring in private capital, repair infrastructure and increase output without changing state ownership of the deposits. The agreement’s durability, he adds, would depend on institutions, valid contracts and rules that survive changes in government.

All the rights and obligations of the transaction will belong to the governments of the United States and Venezuela.

— Leopoldo Martínez NuceteMartínez discusses the need for the agreement to rest on institutions and contracts rather than political discretion.
About this summary

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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