The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, stated this Friday that he expects Venezuela's oil production to increase by between 30% and 40% “in the first year”, according to comments made during an interview.
Wright made those comments in the context of an energy rapprochement between Washington and Caracas, in which the U.S. aims to promote an agreement for the trade of Venezuelan crude and proposes an accelerated increase in extraction, emphasizing the size of the country's reserves.
The official stated that more than 1 billion dollars in Venezuelan crude have already been sold, and another 5 billion is expected in the coming months.
Wright's visit to Caracas included meetings with the Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez at the Miraflores Palace, in a trip framed as part of the U.S. strategy to revitalize and reorganize the Venezuelan energy sector.
Wright described the cooperation with Rodríguez in the recent talks as "incredible" and stated that Venezuela's energy potential is "underutilized," while emphasizing that, in his opinion, the production rebound can be sustained if the course of the agreement is maintained.
Without sanctions for Venezuela
In parallel, the Trump Administration has relaxed the framework of sanctions and licenses related to Venezuelan oil, enabling operations of major energy companies under new authorizations from the Treasury Department.
This Friday, the U.S. administration lifted sanctions on Venezuelan oil and officially opened the door for major energy multinationals to return to the South American country.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a general license authorizing companies such as Repsol, Chevron, BP, Eni, and Shell to reactivate their operations in the exploration, production, and marketing of crude oil and gas.
The measure represents the most significant easing of the sanctions regime imposed in 2019 and comes after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, during a military operation ordered by Trump that completely changed the political landscape in Venezuela.
Filed under: