Bloomberg — Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, facing staffing shortages, has hired international law firm Greenberg Traurig to help streamline contract negotiations with numerous companies ahead of a key regulatory deadline in August.
The law firm confirmed its relationship with Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) in an emailed statement.
“Greenberg Traurig is advising PDVSA on potential oil contracts and compliance with related legal and regulatory requirements,” the firm said.
Since January, when the Trump administration began easing sanctions and encouraged U.S. companies to help revive Venezuela’s oil industry, PDVSA has struggled to handle complex contract negotiations with prospective partners, according to people familiar with the talks who requested anonymity because the discussions involve private matters. Those sources said the company has focused on major oil producers with greater financial resources and influence.
In recent months, numerous companies have signed memorandums of understanding with PDVSA to revitalize declining oil fields. They are now racing to finalize agreements before August to meet the regulatory deadline set by the hydrocarbons law reform approved in January.
For PDVSA, lower global oil prices following the preliminary halt in hostilities between the United States and Iran have added to the urgency. The sooner the parties sign contracts, the sooner the country can expand oil production and exports and generate revenue for an economy that remains unsettled after U.S. forces removed former President Nicolás Maduro from power in January.
Years of mismanagement, corruption, and sanctions have left PDVSA in need of foreign capital and expertise to restore oil wells and rebuild aging infrastructure.
Neither PDVSA nor Venezuela’s Ministry of Information immediately responded to requests for comment.
