Venezuela Weighs Privatizing Oil in Face of Economic Free

• Facing economic collapse and painful sanctions, the socialist government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has proposed giving majority shares and control of its oil industry to big international corporations, a move that would forsake decades of state monopoly.
• Maduro’s representatives have held talks with Russia’s Rosneft PJSC, Repsol SA of Spain and Italy’s Eni SpA. The idea is to allow them to take over government-controlled oil properties and restructure some debt of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA in exchange for assets
• The proposal, which could offer a balm to the country’s disintegrating oil industry, is in early stages and faces major obstacles. Venezuelan laws would have to be changed, there is disagreement over how to finance the operations, and Washington’s sanctions bar any U.S. companies from doing business with the Maduro regime without a waiver.

(Source: Bloomberg)