Business & Economics
Caracas Green-Lights Hydrocarbons Law Rewrite, Ending PDVSA’s Monopoly
On 29 Jan 2026 acting president Delcy Rodríguez signed a fast-tracked amendment that scraps the state oil company’s mandatory majority stake and slashes royalties, opening Venezuela’s oilfields to direct foreign control for the first time since 2006.
Focusing Facts
- The National Assembly approved the bill on 29 Jan 2026; royalties can be lowered to 15 % (previous floor 33 %).
- New rules let private companies explore, produce and market crude without entering PDVSA-majority joint ventures, and allow disputes to go to international arbitration.
- Hours after the vote, the U.S. Treasury issued a general license easing sanctions to let American firms operate in Venezuela’s oil sector.
Context
Seen against a century-long pendulum between resource nationalism and foreign dominance—think Mexico’s 1938 expropriation reversed by the 2013 energy reform, or Russia’s 1990s sell-offs after the Soviet collapse—this pivot reflects how military force and sanctions can abruptly reset ownership structures. Washington’s seizure of Maduro and rapid regulatory overhaul echoes the 2003 post-invasion rewriting of Iraq’s oil laws, underscoring how external power can reshape sovereign energy policy. If sustained, the move shifts Venezuela from a nationalist, state-led model erected by Chávez in 2006 toward a liberalized framework typical of 1990s globalization, binding the country’s future revenue stream to private capital and U.S. strategic oversight. On a 100-year scale, this moment could mark the end of Latin America’s longest experiment with socialist oil sovereignty and a re-entry into a cycle where geopolitical leverage, rather than geology alone, determines who ultimately profits from the world’s largest crude reserves.
Perspectives
International business press
Reuters, The Japan Times — The proposed reform is a positive first step that could unlock fresh corporate investment, but deeper legal changes are still needed before the $100 billion overhaul can proceed. By framing the issue primarily through the lens of executives and investment risk, these outlets gloss over questions of Venezuelan sovereignty and the legality of U.S. control highlighted elsewhere.
Right-leaning U.S. media
The Daily Caller, NTD — Opening Venezuela’s oil sector is a welcome, Trump-driven “reset” that will benefit both Americans and Venezuelans while ending failed socialist policies. These stories celebrate U.S. military intervention and policy goals, largely omitting civilian costs or international law concerns and portraying Washington’s takeover as unambiguously benevolent.
Progressive / anti-intervention media
Common Dreams — The new law is the result of coercive “gunboat diplomacy” that forces Venezuela to hand its oil to Big Oil at discount rates for U.S. corporate gain. This coverage foregrounds activist voices and imperialism critiques, potentially underplaying Venezuela’s production collapse and the domestic support some reforms may enjoy.