US Energy Secretary Heads to Venezuela for Oil Industry Revival
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is set to arrive in Venezuela this week, marking the highest-level US visit focused on energy policy in nearly three decades. His trip follows the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by US forces and a $2 billion oil supply deal agreed between the two countries.
The agenda for Wright's visit includes meetings with interim president Delcy Rodriguez, government officials, and executives from companies including Chevron and Repsol. He is also expected to meet with local consumer goods companies and visit Petropiar, the largest oil project in Venezuela's main oil region.
Wright faces a Herculean task of organizing the recovery of Venezuela's oil industry from decades of underinvestment, mismanagement, and harsh US sanctions. The country's National Assembly recently approved a sweeping reform to its primary oil law, which grants operational and financial autonomy to foreign producers as a first step to encourage investment.
Thomas O'Donnell, an analyst specializing in energy geopolitics, says the visit reflects a longer-term US geostrategic interest in Venezuelan oil. The Trump administration is seeking to reshape global energy markets while pressuring Russia, according to O'Donnell.