HOUSTON — Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado called for the full privatization of South America’s oil industry in a speech to energy company executives and investors Tuesday.
“The Venezuelan state will stay out of the way and pave the way for the conditions for the full privatization of the Venezuelan oil and gas sector,” Machado said at S&P Global’s CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas.
Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was blocked from running for president in 2024 by the government of former President Nicolas Maduro. She previously served as a member of Congress. Machado is leading an opposition movement calling for Venezuela to transition to democracy and a market economy.
The United States captured President Maduro in a military raid in January, but left the rest of his government alone. The Trump administration praised its cooperation with interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who served as vice president under Maduro.
Machado said it would take at least nine months to create the conditions for free and fair elections in Venezuela. Opposition leaders said Venezuelans will vote for free markets, the rule of law and property rights.
Machado laid out his vision for Venezuela’s future democratic state to set clear rules and enforce contracts. “The role of the state will be strictly as a regulator, creating incentives for long-term investment,” she said.
Machado said the state-run Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) had become a “criminal organization.”
“In the first stage, some operations will need to continue but be significantly scaled back until we can actually privatize the entire operational process,” she said.
Machado said Venezuela has the potential to produce more than 5 million barrels a day, but will require massive investments of $150 billion over the next 10 years. The country currently produces around 1 million barrels per day and is believed to have the world’s largest proven reserves.
Industry skepticism
President Donald Trump is pressuring U.S. oil and gas companies to invest in Venezuela, but industry leaders are skeptical.
conocophilips and exxon mobil It has made clear it will not return until major political reforms are implemented to protect private sector investment. Both companies had their assets seized by President Hugo Chávez in 2007.
Conoco will not invest until it finds a way to recover some of the $12 billion Venezuela owes the company through expropriation of assets, CEO Ryan Lance said Tuesday. Recent reforms to Venezuelan oil laws under the Rodriguez administration are “woefully inadequate,” Lance said.
“We have a long way to go to make this country globally competitive to attract the billions of dollars of investment that will be needed in the coming years,” Lance told CERAWeek.
The CEO said it will require not only physical security and contract guarantees, but also the durability of policies in Venezuela and the United States.
“We need policy sustainability, not only on the Venezuelan side but also on the American side,” Lance said. “What will happen if another government comes into power? How are they going to view Venezuela?”
