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Energy Secretary Visits Venezuela to Assess Oil Overhaul
Chris Wright to Meet With Acting President Delcy Rodríguez
CARACAS, Venezuela — The United States government on Feb. 11 further asserted its self-appointed role in turning aroundVenezuela’s dilapidated oil industrywith the arrival ofEnergy Secretary Chris Wrightto the South American country for a firsthand assessment.
Wright’s visit comes as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump continues to lift sanctions to allow foreign companies to operate in Venezuela and help rebuild the nation’s most important industry. It follows last month’s enactment of a Venezuelan law that opened thenation’s oil sectorto private investment, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.
The U.S. Embassy in Venezuela welcomed Wright to the country, writing on social platform X that “the U.S. private sector will be essential to boost the oil sector, modernize the electric grid and unlock Venezuela’s enormous potential.”
Wright is expected to meet with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, government officials, oil executives and others.
Rodríguez was sworn into her new role after thebrazen Jan. 3 seizureof then-PresidentNicolás Maduroin a U.S. military attack in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. She proposed the overhaul of the country’s energy law after Trump said his administration wouldtake controlof Venezuela’s oil exports andrevitalize the ailing industrybyluring foreign investment.
Rodríguez’s government expects the changes to serve as assurances formajor U.S. oil companiesthat have so far hesitated about returning to the volatile country. Some of those companies lost investments when the ruling party enacted the existing law two decades ago to favor Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA.
Welcome to Venezuela, . Your visit is key to advancing's vision of a prosperousVenezuela. The U.S. private sector will be essential to boost the oil sector, modernize the electric grid, and unlock Venezuela's enormous potential. — Embajada de los EE.UU., Venezuela (@usembassyve)
The new law now grants private companies control over oil production and sales, ending PDVSA's monopoly over those activities as well as pricing. It also allows for independent arbitration of disputes, removing a mandate for disagreements to be settled only in Venezuelan courts, whichare controlledby the ruling party.
Foreign investors view the involvement of independent arbitrators as crucial to guard against future expropriation.
