Caracas is actively co-operating with Donald Trump’s administration on plans to export its oil to the US, with interim leader Delcy Rodríguez in close contact with secretary of state Marco Rubio, according to a person close to the Venezuelan government.
Teams of experts from Venezuela and the US are collaborating on overcoming legal and bureaucratic hurdles to deliver on Trump’s demand to allow the export to the US of between 30mn and 50mn barrels of sanctioned oil to generate revenue for both the US and Venezuela.
“The top priority now is to stabilise the situation in Venezuela,” said the person familiar with the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
“For that to happen, we need to keep the oil flowing and we need money coming into Venezuela. This is in the interests of both sides,” the person added.
Trump has said Rodríguez has been in contact with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, highlighting what his administration depicted as a deal with the “interim authorities” in Venezuela.
Rodríguez is under heavy pressure to follow the plan for Venezuela outlined by Rubio, who told reporters after briefing lawmakers on Wednesday that “step one is the stabilisation of the country”, followed by “recovery” and “transition”.
A key question in the wake of last weekend’s capture of former strongman leader Nicolás Maduro from Caracas by American commandos has been whether Venezuela’s revolutionary socialist government would go along with Trump’s plan for the US to “run” the country.
“Delcy is very much someone who sits in the zone of compromise,” the person said. “She listens.”
Rodríguez, who was previously vice-president, has not made any public comment about Trump’s announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday that “the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil” to the US.
Trump added that the oil would be sold at market price, with the proceeds “to be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States”.
Reflecting Washington’s optimism about the level of co-operation from Caracas, a White House official said on Thursday: “There has been overwhelming interest from US energy companies to invest and do business in Venezuela. More announcements to come, stay tuned!”
PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company, said in a Wednesday statement that it was “currently negotiating with the United States for the sale of volumes of oil”.
Marco Rubio told reporters after briefing lawmakers on Wednesday that ‘step one is the stabilisation’ of Venezuela, followed by ‘recovery’ and ‘transition’ © JIim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Shutterstock
The crude under discussion for shipment to the US, the person familiar with the conversation said, is the oil produced by PDVSA itself and its joint venture partners including Chinese companies and others. Chevron, which pumps about 240,000 b/d, already has a licence from the US allowing it to export crude.
Teams of experts were now working in Washington and Caracas on clearing those barriers, the person said, but time was of the essence because “in a few days we will run out of storage and then we would have to start shutting down wells, which we want to avoid at all costs”.
The person said he expected some of the proceeds to flow back to oil companies in Venezuela, including PDVSA, and the government. At the current market price for Venezuela’s Merey blend heavy crude, 50mn barrels of oil could fetch up to $2.6bn.
Until now, the oil produced by PDVSA and its international partners has been subject to sanctions and other legal hurdles blocking the export and sale of Venezuelan crude.
But the person familiar with the matter said Rodríguez, an English speaker, has been in “regular direct contact” with Rubio, who speaks fluent Spanish, to work out how to co-operate with Washington. “Delcy is very much someone who sits in the zone of compromise,” he said. “She listens.”
The person added that she was committed to the process and shared a common interest with the Americans in ensuring that Venezuela was stabilised and could attract fresh oil investment.
One immediate problem is that Washington does not officially recognise Rodríguez’s government as legitimate, which raises legal risks for any firm signing contracts with the administration.
But the person said he expected Washington to grant recognition to the Caracas government “very soon” to facilitate the process.
Venezuela has also been cut off from the Swift international payments system, meaning a solution must be found to facilitate transfers of money back to Caracas.
Analysts say restoring Venezuela’s production to anything close to the levels it pumped before the late socialist leader Hugo Chávez took power in 1998 would require massive investment.
The Caribbean country’s oil sector would need capital investment of about $180bn to return to an output of about 3mn b/d by 2040, according to an estimate by Rystad Energy, a Norway-based consultancy.
Chevron, which is the only US oil major operating in Venezuela, has indicated that it could rapidly scale up existing production and bring additional oil on line, the person said.
Shell has said it could bring gas on stream at the giant Dragon field, a project Venezuela shares with Trinidad and Tobago that has been on indefinite hold since 2019, by late next year.
