Venezuela says it retains ‘sovereignty’ following US oil deal

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez says the country is preserving its sovereignty despite the announcement that it will hand over the rights to billions of barrels of its oil to the United States.

The “historic” deal with Washington to hand over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil will last 25 years and allow Venezuela to develop its oil industry while preserving “ownership of and sovereignty” of its resources, Rodriguez said in a televised address on Saturday.

The project envisages the development of 17 strategic oilfields with an initial production target of 1.5 million barrels per day, she said.

The broader plan also includes the development of eight greenfield oil blocks as part of a wider expansion of the country’s energy sector.

Under the deal, $19 from every barrel of oil produced and sold to the US will flow to Caracas, an arrangement that could be worth $209bn per year to Venezuela, depending on oil prices, Rodriguez said.

Venezuela will keep ownership of its natural resources “while leveraging capital, technology and operational expertise to support the recovery of a strategic industry that has been severely affected by sanctions”, she said.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced plans for Washington to take partial control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves in a deal that would see foreign companies, including US ones, rescue Venezuela’s dilapidated energy infrastructure.

Venezuelan officials are preparing to sign agreements next week that will grant new oil exploration and production rights to several companies, including US firm Chevron, the Reuters news agency reported.

Caracas has been under pressure to act in line with Washington’s demands since January, after US special forces abducted then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and handed leadership over to his vice president, Rodriguez.