Venezuela and U.S. Energy Policy

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez remotely pitched Venezuela’s newly opened oil sector at a Saudi‑backed Miami investment summit, saying a new oil law ends state oil company PDVSA’s monopoly over production, sales and pricing and lets private firms control those activities with disputes routed to independent international arbitration. She told investors the overhaul — which she tied to changes since Nicolás Maduro’s Jan. 3 capture and to phased U.S. sanctions relief under pressure from the Trump administration — will drive double‑digit growth over the next three years, that 64% of a barrel’s production cost is “room for negotiation” via lower royalties and taxes and dividends, and that output has rebounded to about 1 million barrels per day (up from under 400,000 in 2020 but well below 1999’s 3.5 million bpd).