New Venezuela hydrocarbons law to include production participation contracts: Rodríguez

Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez presented legislation to the National Assembly Jan. 15 to encourage foreign and other private investment into its oil fields and infrastructure.

"This project aims to incorporate the production models included in the Anti-Blockade Law into our Hydrocarbons Law, allowing these investment flows to be channeled into new oil fields where no investment has ever been made before and fields where there is no infrastructure," Rodríguez said during the presentation of the annual report to parliament.

The text of the reform bill was not immediately available.

The Hydrocarbons Law was enacted in 2001 under the government of Hugo Chávez. It reaffirmed state control over Venezuela's resources and paved the way for the 2007 expropriations of foreign-held and privately held assets.

The Anti-Blockade Law was approved in 2020 in response to US sanctions to authorize the participation of the domestic and international private sectors in the development of Venezuela's economy. Under that law, Venezuela awarded 13 production and participation contracts in 2024 and 2025 to increase production by more than 900,000 b/d with an investment of $32 billion.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has told oil industry executives they would have "total safety, total security" if they sent employees and equipment to begin rebuilding Venezuela's oil infrastructure. At a meeting Jan. 9 at the White House, a host of companies pledged to explore new projects. Other companies already producing under US sanctions exceptions, such as Chevron and Repsol, have committed to boosting production immediately.

Trump has also vowed to secure $100 billion in new investment for Venezuela's dilapidated energy sector. US and international oil executives have made differing pledges regarding investment in Venezuela's oil industry.

Rodríguez's move in the National Assembly, followed by comments Jan. 14 from Trump that he had spoken with her, calling her a "terrific person that we've worked with very well." The US seized Venezuela's strongman president, Nicolás Maduro, on Jan. 3, bringing him to New York to face narcoterrorism charges.

Trump, meanwhile, met with exiled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Jan. 15. According to the New York Times, Machado told supporters and reporters that she was "impressed" by Trump's understanding of the current situation in Venezuela and "how much he cares."