The Daily Journal.— Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced Thursday that her government is negotiating 44 additional agreements in the oil sector, which would add to the 61 already signed by state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), bringing the total to 105 agreements so far this year.
“In addition to the 61 agreements that PDVSA has already signed, 44 are under negotiation. That makes a total of 105 agreements (…) in less than a year,” Rodríguez said during her remarks at the 82nd Annual Assembly of Fedecámaras, Venezuela’s leading business association.
Rodríguez did not specify which companies or entities are negotiating the new agreements, nor did she provide details on their terms, duration, or economic scope.
Rodríguez also reported 18 agreements in the mining sector, although she did not provide details about the parties involved or the projects covered by the deals.
During her remarks, the acting president said Venezuelan oil production has increased by 8% so far this year after falling in January, a decline she attributed to the United States’ 2025 “naval blockade” in the Caribbean.
The latest official figures put the country’s oil production at more than 1.2 million barrels per day.
In late August, Venezuela and the United States signed an agreement to develop 17 oil fields containing one-fifth of the country’s proven crude reserves. The agreement grants North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) economic and governance rights over the projects.
In turn, the oil company allocated a 35% equity stake in its corporate parent to the Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital. The structure also gives the State Department the right to purchase, at cost, 20% of the oil produced from current and future fields operated by NABEP.
