Venezuela's Opposition Drafts Energy Reform to Raise Foreign Pressure on Maduro

• Venezuela's opposition has drafted a broad proposal for energy sector reform that would allow the participation of international companies in a bid to attract support from Big Oil and from the U.S. administration, according to sources and a summary of the proposal seen by Reuters.
• The re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration this month cancelled a key license for U.S. oil major, Chevron, to operate in Venezuela citing President Nicolas Maduro's lack of electoral reforms, is seen by opposition leaders as an opportunity to ratchet up pressure on the leftist president.
• The proposed reform to Venezuela's hydrocarbon law sweetens previous plans presented by the opposition in recent years and may be attractive to international oil companies, including those in the United States.
• It includes shrinking the size of state oil company, PDVSA, while offering Venezuelan oil and gas fields, refineries and midstream assets to foreign companies. PDVSA's stakes would be open for private bidding.
• The reform proposal sets out plans to increase oil output above 3 million barrels per day (bpd), a level not seen in 15 years, according to a summary of the document seen by Reuters. The new proposal would also allow existing partners of PDVSA to shift to more attractive contract terms, which would include a lower take for the government.

(Source: Reuters)