The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, defended the oil agreement reached with the United States and assured that the understanding will allow recovering the productive capacity of the hydrocarbon industry, which has been hit for years by international sanctions and the deterioration of its infrastructure.
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One day after the agreement was announced, Rodríguez detailed in a speech to the nation that the understanding contemplates a long-term partnership between both countries and highlighted that each party will contribute different resources to develop Venezuelan oil assets.
“This agreement is based on a very simple premise. Each party contributes what it can do best. Venezuela contributes oil, its industry, and the experience of its workers for more than 100 years. The United States contributes capital and the necessary technology to recover and develop those assets,” she stated.
According to the president, the binational project will last 25 years and contemplates the development of 17 strategic fields, with a production target exceeding 1.5 million barrels per day.
Rodríguez pointed out that the understanding will be complemented with agreements with international companies such as Chevron, Rexall, Eni, Shell, and BP, with which Caracas seeks to increase crude production, develop the gas industry, and expand petrochemical capacity.
One of the points emphasized by the acting president was the ownership of natural resources.
Her statements come after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, described the understanding as the “largest oil agreement in world history” and stated that Washington would gain control over about 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan reserves.
Regarding this, Rodríguez maintained that the agreement does not imply a transfer of sovereignty over hydrocarbons.
“Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its resources, while using capital, technology, and operational capacity to leverage the recovery of a strategic industry,” she affirmed.
The Venezuelan authority also stated that citizens should know the economic conditions of the agreement and the results of the operations.
“Venezuelans have the right to know how much is invested, how much is produced, how much the State receives, and what the conditions are for the operators,” she said.
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The authority estimated the revenues that the Venezuelan State could receive at US$209.335 billion, taking as a reference a price of US$65 per barrel.
“In concrete terms, this means that, for every barrel produced and sold, about 19 dollars enter our country directly,” she explained.
The acting president compared the conditions of the new project with the agreements signed during the so-called oil opening three decades ago.
According to her presentation, that stage contemplated projects with royalties of 1% and an income tax of 34%, while the new agreement considers for eight new blocks of the Orinoco Oil Belt minimum royalties of 16%, in addition to an income tax of 34%.
The understanding contemplates, according to the background provided by Washington and Caracas, a private investment exceeding US$100 billion for the recovery of the Venezuelan oil industry.
Rodríguez presented the agreement as part of a change in the bilateral relationship between Venezuela and the United States, countries that for years maintained strong political and economic differences.
“That is why we chose the path of diplomacy with the United States of America, to transform our differences into cooperation,” she said.
The president also thanked Trump and Marco Rubio for their participation in the negotiations and stated that the Venezuelan government’s goal is to use foreign investment to recover production and modernize the infrastructure associated with the energy sector.
“We need investment, technology, infrastructure, productive capacity to turn that wealth into well-being for our people,” she affirmed.
It is worth noting that hours earlier, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the ruling party, had previously expressed its support for the agreement and stated that it will allow the hydrocarbon reserves to be leveraged to boost the country’s productive recovery, within the framework of the economic sanctions that have affected Venezuela during the last decade.
