How Venezuela Auctioned Its Oil to Survive
The recent announcements regarding Venezuela’s oil coming out of Washington and Caracas read less like bilateral diplomacy and more like a geopolitical fever dream. In a move that fundamentally rewrites the economic map of the Western Hemisphere, the interim Venezuelan government of Delcy Rodríguez has handed over one-fifth of the nation’s crude oil reserves to […]
In a surprising turn of events, the interim Venezuelan government of Delcy Rodríguez has auctioned off one-fifth of the nation's crude oil reserves to a private firm backed by the United States military. The deal, which grants North American Blue Energy Partners operational control over seventeen fields in the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo, has drawn criticism for its implications on Venezuela's oil sovereignty.
The agreement, brokered by the U.S. Pentagon, also gives the Pentagon a 35 percent ownership stake in the parent company and gives the U.S. State Department the right to purchase 20 percent of the oil production at cost. While the deal offers Venezuela up to $100 billion in infrastructure investments and $209 billion in royalties over the next twenty-five years, it has been seen as a desperate move by the unpopular government in Caracas to secure funding and political support ahead of the November midterm elections.
Brief written by urgent.news from Colombia One's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
