Delcy Rodriguez, acting as Venezuela’s interim President, has enacted a transformative law that allows for the privatization of the country’s oil industry. This significant policy shift marks a departure from the socialist principles that have guided Venezuela for over twenty years.
Rodriguez’s decision to open the oil sector to private investment is a strategic move designed to attract the foreign capital necessary for revitalizing the industry. This change follows closely on the heels of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s capture by the U.S., less than a month ago. Before assuming her current role, Rodriguez served as Maduro’s vice president. Her administration faces mounting pressure from the Trump administration, which has expressed interest in Venezuela’s oil resources, especially after imposing economic sanctions.
Earlier this month, on January 10, President Trump convened a meeting with nearly two dozen executives from leading oil and gas firms at the White House. During this gathering, he announced that American energy companies plan to invest $100 billion into revamping Venezuela’s deteriorating oil infrastructure, aiming to boost production to unprecedented levels.
In a symbolic gesture, Rodriguez participated in a rally at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, proudly displaying a copy of the newly approved legislation that paves the way for the privatization of the nation’s oil sector. This event took place on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo Credit: Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)
On the same day, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Safeguarding Venezuelan Oil Revenue for the Good of the American and Venezuelan People.” This order prevents U.S. courts from seizing Venezuelan oil revenues stored in American Treasury accounts.
“We are discussing the future. This is about the country we will leave to our children,” Rodriguez stated regarding the reforms, as reported by The Associated Press.
Workers of Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA oil company rally to back an oil reform bill proposed by acting President Delcy Rodriguez to loosen state control and open the industry to private and foreign investment in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)
The legislation ends the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA’s (PDVSA) monopoly over the production and sale of oil, as well as pricing, and allows private companies to take control, the AP reported.
The new law states that a private company “will assume full management of the activities at its own expense, account, and risk, after demonstrating its financial and technical capacity through a business plan approved by” Venezuela’s Oil Ministry, according to the AP. However, the outlet added that the law leaves control of hydrocarbon reserves operated by private companies with the government.
The law also allows for independent arbitration of disputes, ending the requirement that they be settled in Venezuelan courts controlled by the ruling party, according to the AP. Additionally, it modifies extraction taxes, setting a royalty cap rate of 30%, the AP reported.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Rodriguez on Thursday, the AP reported. The call came just one day after the secretary explained to senators how the administration was planning to handle the sale of tens of millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela, the AP added. The outlet noted that Venezuela has the largest reserves of crude oil in the world.
A PDVSA worker of the state-owned oil company carries a cutout of former President Nicolás Maduro dressed as an oil worker during a rally to back an oil reform bill proposed by acting President Delcy Rodriguez to loosen state control and open the industry to private and foreign investment in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)
“What we hope to do is transition to a mechanism that allows that to be sold in a normal way, a normal oil industry, not one dominated by cronies, not one dominated by graft and corruption,” Rubio said at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
The secretary said that the U.S. would retain control of the oil revenue and that Venezuela would submit monthly budget outlining what they need funded. Subsequently, the funds will be moved into an account over which the U.S. will have oversight. He explained that the money would not be in the hands of the U.S., but Washington would control its disbursement to ensure it benefits the Venezuelan people.
