Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Chevron is planning to expand its operations in Venezuela, a US official said on Tuesday, days after President Donald Trump announced a broad agreement to develop the country’s oil reserves and give the Pentagon a share in the profits. The official said Chevron executives and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are expected to visit Venezuela on Wednesday, when the new investment will be formally announced.
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The move comes as the White House pushes deeper into Venezuela’s oil sector through a separate partnership with North American Blue Energy Partners, or NABEP. Analysts have met that deal with scepticism, saying it could take years to revive production and raising questions about its legality and whether future governments in Venezuela or the United States could reverse it.
Chevron, the second-largest US oil company and the only one with a major presence in Venezuela, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House confirmed on Monday that it is partnering with NABEP as part of Trump’s effort to tap Venezuela’s oil industry.
Analysts have questioned whether Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodrguez has the legal authority to grant the company 100-year rights over 17 oil fields with reserves of 65 billion barrels. They have also raised doubts over whether later administrations in either country would uphold the agreement. NABEP, owned by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, is already the second-largest operator in Venezuela.
Under the agreement with the US government, a new company would be created in which the Pentagon would hold a 35 per cent stake. The State Department would also have the right to buy 20 per cent of the oil produced at cost. A US official said the government is not putting money into the new company, but its support would help it attract investment needed to increase output.
The administration defended its decision to work with Betancourt, who has faced criminal investigations over alleged money laundering in Spain and Switzerland, according to media reports. No formal charges were filed. The official said Betancourt had been vetted and that “no US laws were violated.” The same official also described him as the only viable partner available, saying, “you have to work with the factors that you have in place.”
The agreement is also expected to face legal challenges and questions over legitimacy. The Trump administration negotiated it with Rodrguez, who took power after the January military operation that captured Nicolas Maduro and took him to the United States to face federal narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges. Venezuela’s Constitution says contracts of this kind with foreign governments must also be approved by the National Assembly, which did not happen. But the official said the agreement is with NABEP, a private company headquartered in Barbados with its main regional office and operations in Caracas.
The official said the Trump administration wants elections to take place as quickly as feasible, but is trying to preserve stability as it supports Venezuela’s transition after decades of autocratic rule. The official said such transitions “almost invariably requires you to work with elements of the existing structure, even as you are creating a new one.”
The Pentagon’s role in the arrangement comes through its Office of Strategic Capital, which was created under former President Joe Biden to invest in technology needed for national security. A second US official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, described the Venezuela agreement as “a very standard deal” and said the office has entered into several similar arrangements since Trump returned to office.
Trump has focused on Venezuela’s oil since Maduro’s capture, with his aides describing it as a way to reduce reliance on oil from the Middle East. He has also been pressing US businesses to rebuild their presence in the country. Venezuela’s oil industry was nationalised under Hugo Chavez in 2007, a move that led major companies such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips to leave Caracas. Chevron’s planned expansion now adds to the wider US push into the country’s energy sector.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
