Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday proposed reforms to the country’s hydrocarbon law, aiming to make it easier for foreign investors to tap into the nation’s vast oil reserves and support a U.S.-backed reconstruction plan.
Speaking in her first annual address to the National Assembly since taking office, Rodriguez said the reforms would allow investment in new fields, areas with no existing infrastructure, and underdeveloped sites that have yet to receive foreign capital.
“The aim is to incorporate investment flows into fields where no investment has ever been made, as well as those lacking infrastructure,” Rodriguez said, adding that funds from oil sales would benefit workers and public services.
Under the Trump administration’s current deal with Caracas, around $500 million from oil sales is being held in U.S.-controlled accounts, reportedly based in Qatar, with a view to managing Venezuela’s oil revenue during the reconstruction process.
Historically, Venezuela’s hydrocarbon law has required that foreign partners work alongside state oil company PDVSA, which must hold the majority stake in any project. Rodriguez did not specify the details of how this requirement would be revised.
Rodriguez took office on an interim basis after U.S. forces captured former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, earlier this month. In her address, she also emphasized diplomacy with the United States, signaling a shift from historically tense rhetoric between the two countries.
The announcement comes amid heightened U.S. efforts to control Venezuela’s oil resources, including the recent seizure of a sixth Venezuela-linked tanker as part of a campaign to secure the country’s energy assets.
Rodriguez’s proposal aligns with the Trump administration’s $100 billion reconstruction plan for Venezuela, which prioritizes investment in oil, minerals, trade, and security as part of broader efforts to stabilize the country’s economy.
Earlier on Thursday, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado met with President Trump in Washington, presenting her Nobel Peace Prize medal and discussing the ongoing political situation in Venezuela, while Trump praised Rodriguez as “extremely cooperative” during a prior phone call.
