Delcy Rodríguez presented the Venezuelan oil sector to investors at a summit in Miami

(Patria) - Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez spoke yesterday at an investment summit supported by Saudi Arabia about long-term opportunities in her resource-rich country, showing how the Venezuelan government is trying to attract investors to the oil sector, AP reported.

Addressing the summit in Miami from Venezuela, Rodríguez presented a reformed industry – one that has opened up to private capital, international arbitration, and control in less than three months since the US military abducted her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, and the White House began implementing a phased plan to reverse course in Caracas.

She did not mention Maduro, but instead focused on convincing potential investors that Venezuela represents a safe investment, partly thanks to the recent reform of the oil industry.

She said that the country will achieve double-digit economic growth this year and the next two years, creating conditions "where investors know that, regardless of political changes or restrictive circumstances, there is security, that Venezuela has laws that allow for a safe return on their investments".

"We are in the process of stabilization, implementing the necessary reforms for a productive environment and attracting investments that will diversify the engines of the Venezuelan economy," she said during a presentation held entirely in Spanish.

Venezuela sits atop the world's largest oil reserves and used them to power what was once Latin America's strongest economy. But corruption, mismanagement, and US economic sanctions have led to a steady decline in production from 3.5 million barrels per day in 1999, when Maduro's mentor, Hugo Chávez, took power, to less than 400,000 barrels per day in 2020.

In 2019, the US Treasury Department under the first administration of Donald Trump excluded Venezuela from global oil markets when it sanctioned the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA, as part of a policy to punish Maduro's government for corruption. This forced the government to sell its remaining oil production at a discount, around forty percent below market prices, to buyers like China. Venezuela even began accepting payments in Russian rubles, bartering, or cryptocurrencies.

The country currently produces about one million barrels per day.

On Wednesday, Rodríguez praised Venezuela's low production costs and willingness to negotiate.

"When we consider a barrel of oil, its production costs, 64% of that barrel has room for negotiation with the investor regarding royalty reductions, income tax reductions, and, most importantly, the dividends the investor receives," she said.

"If there is a large investment, obviously the return will be higher on that 64%."

Rodríguez was sworn in after Maduro and his wife were abducted on January 3 in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Both pleaded not guilty and are expected to appear in court today.

After taking office, Rodríguez, under pressure from the Trump administration, quickly moved to revise regulations in the oil industry. The new law now gives private companies control over oil production and sales, ending PDVSA's monopoly over these activities and prices. It also allows for independent arbitration of disputes, abolishing the mandate that disagreements be resolved only in Venezuelan courts, which are controlled by the ruling party.

In return, the US Treasury Department eased sanctions. Last week, it issued a broad authorization allowing PDVSA to directly sell Venezuelan oil to US companies and on global markets, a major shift after largely blocking deals with the Venezuelan government and its oil sector for years.