Venezuela Oil Industry Attracts Foreign Investment Despite Sanctions
Venezuela's oil industry is attracting foreign investment despite years of sanctions and mismanagement. The country, which sits on the world's largest proven oil reserves, aims to increase production from its current one million barrels per day. At a recent oil summit in Caracas, bosses from companies including Repsol, Siemens, Maurel & Prom, and UCC Holding expressed interest in investing in Venezuela.
US President Donald Trump has piled pressure on interim leader Delcy Rodriguez to grant access to the country's crude reserves. Rodriguez has granted Washington access to a huge chunk of the country's crude reserves and signed agreements with foreign companies to look for, produce, and export oil and gas.
Ludwing Mercado, Repsol's operations manager for Venezuela, said the company aims to increase oil production by 50 percent in its oil fields in the country's west. Companies operating in Venezuela are pushing to boost production, but critics accuse Trump of holding the country to ransom after ousting President Nicolas Maduro.