Chris Wright arrived in Caracas with Chevron, Eni and ONGC deals to sign this week
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright arrived in Venezuela on Tuesday for a one-day visit, his second since US forces seized Nicolás Maduro in January. Reuters reported that agreements to be signed in Caracas this week involve Chevron, Italy's Eni, India's ONGC, Colombia's GeoPark and GE Vernova. Wright said they would more than double Venezuelan crude output in the coming years. Venezuela's National Assembly the same day backed a 100-year lease on 17 fields holding about 65 billion barrels; opposition lawmakers protested that the terms were not disclosed.
Geopolitics··Midday
Chris Wright arrived in Caracas as Chevron and Eni deals wait to be signed
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright arrived in Venezuela on Tuesday for a one-day visit with US Treasury and State Department officials, his second since US forces seized Nicolás Maduro in January. Reuters reported that agreements to be signed in Caracas this week involve Chevron, Italy's Eni, India's ONGC, Colombia's GeoPark and GE Vernova. Wright said the agreements would more than double Venezuelan crude output in the coming years. Jorge Rodriguez, the head of Venezuela's National Assembly, had announced that support for the binational energy treaty between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the United States of America was approved, and that Wright was expected to travel to unveil the arrangement. Chevron is separately expected to sign an expansion agreement.[1], [2]
The assembly backed a 100-year lease on 17 fields holding 65 billion barrels
Venezuela's National Assembly backed the arrangement on Tuesday. The White House's partner NABEP holds a 100-year lease on 17 oilfields with about 65 billion barrels of reserves. The deal gives the US access to about one-fifth of the country's proven reserves across 17 large fields on a 100-year lease. Venezuela produces about 1.1 to 1.2 million barrels a day, against a past peak above 3 million.[1], [2]
The US Defence Department takes a 35 per cent stake as the opposition is denied the text
Under the arrangement the US Defence Department takes a 35 per cent stake in a new company and the US State Department gains the right to buy 20 per cent of the oil at production cost. The interim government under President Delcy Rodriguez treats the deal as beneficial to the economy. Opposition lawmaker Luis Emilio Rondon called for transparency, saying they need and are obliged to know what is written in the fine print; some opposition members abstained from the vote and protested the lack of public disclosure of the terms. Wright said the investment would put downward pressure on oil prices but that the biggest kink in gasoline and diesel prices now is refining capacity; CNN en Español quoted him saying the private sector is enthusiastic about the opportunities.[2], [1]
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