Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras recently sent a team of production experts to Venezuela at the request of socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro, Bloomberg reported. report Over the weekend.
The reported arrival of Brazilian oil production experts marks the latest visit by foreign oil company representatives to South America since the administration of US President Joe Biden. talented In October, it announced generous oil and gas sanctions relief measures against the Maduro regime. Brazil’s leftist government appears to be moving forward with cooperation with Venezuela, despite the Biden administration’s threat to reinstate sanctions.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about supply chain resiliency during an event with Cabinet members and members of his administration in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, November 27, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty)
The Brazilian delegation paid a courtesy visit to the oil fields of Lake Maracaibo in the western state of Zulia. Zulia is an important area of oil production in Venezuela. Like the rest of the country’s oil infrastructure, the state itself has been brought to the brink of near ruin after more than two decades of socialist mismanagement, leaving much of the lake in place. . Contaminated Along with chemicals and bacteria.
A fisherman stands on the oily shores of Lake Maracaibo in El Bajo, Zulia state, Venezuela, Saturday, November 18, 2023. The U.S. decision on October 18 to ease sanctions in exchange for greater political freedoms for Venezuela, which will allow the Latin American country’s crude oil to flow to global markets for increased trade and production. (Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg, Getty Images)
Biden relief plan lifts sanctions imposed In 2019, former President Donald Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA in response to continued human rights abuses by the Maduro regime. Ongoing sanctions relief will once again allow PDVSA to freely sell oil on the US and international markets, effectively restoring the authoritarian socialist regime’s main source of income.
Since then, countries such as India and China While talks are underway with the Maduro government to resume purchases of Venezuelan oil, international companies such as Spanish conglomerates are repsol and french Morel & Prom have agreed to restart and expand their respective oil and gas joint ventures with PDVSA.
Bloomberg said that in addition to Petrobras experts, Venezuelan Oil Minister Pedro Telexea recently announced visits from other international oil companies, including Algeria’s Sonatrach, Bolivia’s YPFB and Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos. .
A report released in December said the Maduro government expects a significant increase in oil export revenues in 2024 as a result of all new agreements. signedthanks to Biden’s sanctions relief package.
In exchange for his extensive sanctions relief package, President Maduro offered a series of vague promises to consider holding “free and fair” presidential elections during the second half of 2024. The regime completely violated the terms of the agreement shortly after it was signed. It will step up the crackdown on political dissidents and nullify the deal to hold actual elections at the end of 2024. Instead, Caracas announced Fake presidential election scheduled for July 28th. The opposition’s leading candidate, Maria Colina Machado, remains barred from running against President Maduro in July’s sham presidential election.
Supporters welcome opposition presidential candidate Maria Colina Machado as she arrives at a polling station to vote during the opposition primary elections in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, October 22, 2023. The opposition plans to elect one candidate to challenge President Nicolas Maduro in 2024. Presidential election (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix).
I have the White House, blackmailed Big oil companies are “betting” that the Biden administration will refrain from reimposing oil and gas sanctions on Venezuela to “control global oil and U.S. gasoline prices,” Bloomberg reports. Biden has reasoned that he faces a tough re-election campaign against Donald Trump.
Brian Nichols Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs claimed Last week, Biden said his generous sanctions relief package was “not enough” to persuade Maduro to hold “free and fair” elections.
Prior to Biden’s lifting of sanctions, Maduro’s government was desperately trying to rebuild Venezuela’s devastated oil industry. In recent years, Venezuela has received help from Iran, a major anti-American ideological ally. repair Decades of socialist neglect brought the refinery to the brink of ruin.
A refinery at the Paraguana refinery complex on Lake Maracaibo in Maracaibo, Zulia state, Venezuela, Wednesday, November 15, 2023. (Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg)
Iran not only helped Venezuela repair its refineries and reduce its dependence on US-based technology; Refine In 2022, it will introduce its own oil to Venezuelan territory.
Venezuela, Iran, and Syria have announced that they will jointly develop the technology in 2023. Refinery In the Syrian city of Homs. If built successfully, the planned 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery would benefit all three rogue regimes.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
