Refrential photo of an oil rig. Photo: ECS Geothermal/File photo.
According to Bloomberg, oil transnationals worldwide are flocking to Venezuela now that the United States has eased some of the illegal sanctions against Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA). This is despite the risk that the coercive measures blocking Venezuela from normally developed oil production might be resumed.
The US outlet reports that companies such as Shell Plc. (United Kingdom), Repsol SA (Spain), Mol Nyrt (Hungary), Maha Energy AB (Sweden), along with the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and the Bolivian state gas company YPFB, have sent delegations to Caracas since the United States eased restrictions on Venezuela’s oil sector last month.
Whether the sanctions return to their initial status depends on whether elections are “guaranteed” according to the United States government narrative of this specific fact. This means that the current moment of detente is very fragile. At any moment, they could resume the sanctions via the nonrenewal of general licenses recently issued by the US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
According to Bloomberg, this is a risk that oil companies that seek to do business with Venezuela, still blocked by US sanctions, have decided to take on. The willingness to accept this risk demonstrates the good perspective regarding PDVSA’s ability to do business with third parties and the tremendous need that European transnationals have for their extremely critical energy supply market after the North Atlantic blockade imposed on Russia.
European Union Eases Some Illegal Sanctions Against Venezuela
The US outlet and the Spanish El Pais reported the eager attitude of energy corporations to resume partnerships with PDVSA. Yet, both outlets simultaneously push the US narrative about the easing of sanctions as dependant on the lifting of disqualification against opposition politicians, something that the Venezuelan government has reiterated was not part of the agreements signed a few months ago in Bridgetown, Barbados. Venezuela has stated that it will release the secret conversations that led to the Barbados agreement if the US insists on pushing for something not part of the negotiation.
Meanwhile, Venezuela still awaits the unfreezing of over $3 billion promised by the US to be released in November 2022, along with two tones of gold illegally seized by the Bank of England. These resources are needed by the Venezuelan government to improve education, infrastructure, wages, and many other issues heavily impacted by the illegal sanctions.
(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
