US Secretary of Energy in Venezuela to Oversee Oil Industry Reform

(Patria) - US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday for an on-site assessment of the country's oil industry, AP reported.
Wright met with acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. During his three-day visit to the South American country, he is expected to meet with government officials, oil company executives, and others.

In a statement to reporters after meeting with Rodríguez, Wright told reporters that President Donald Trump is "passionately committed... to transforming Venezuela" and bringing "trade, peace, prosperity, jobs, and opportunity to the people of Venezuela." He did not answer reporters' questions.

Wright's visit comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump continues to lift sanctions to allow foreign companies to do business in Venezuela and help rebuild the country's most important industry. This follows the passage of a Venezuelan law last month that opened the country's oil sector to private investment, overturning the principle of the socialist movement that has governed the country for more than two decades.

Rodríguez was sworn into her new role following the abduction of then-President Nicolás Maduro on January 3rd in a US military attack on Caracas. She proposed reforming the country's energy law after Trump said his administration would take control of Venezuela's oil exports and revitalize the struggling industry by attracting foreign investment.

Rodríguez acknowledged on Wednesday that Venezuela's relations with the US have had "ups and downs," but said both countries are now working on a mutually beneficial "energy agenda."

"Let diplomatic dialogue... and energy dialogue be appropriate and suitable channels for the US and Venezuela to maturely determine how to move forward," she told reporters as she stood next to Wright with the flags of both countries behind them.

Her government expects the changes to the oil law to serve as reassurance for major US oil companies that have so far hesitated to return to the country. Some of them lost investments when the ruling party enacted the current law two decades ago in favor of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.

The new law now gives private companies control over oil production and sales, ending PDVSA's monopoly over these activities, as well as over prices. Then, it allows for independent arbitration of disputes, removing the mandate that disagreements be resolved only in Venezuelan courts, which are controlled by the ruling party.

Foreign investors consider the inclusion of independent arbitrators key to protecting them from future expropriation.