The United States Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, arrived in Caracas on Tuesday night for a visit to Venezuela, where he stated that companies are about to close a series of agreements that will put the country on a path to rapidly expand its oil production.
Wright is scheduled to meet with Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, and is expected to announce more than a dozen agreements with energy companies on Wednesday. According to the Secretary himself, these agreements will lead to more than a doubling of Venezuela's oil production in the coming years.
The largest of the announced agreements is with Chevron, which is significantly expanding its operations in Venezuela, taking on two enormous oil fields. The agreements include 100-year concessions and foresee the United States purchasing oil from Venezuela at cost price, in addition to having veto power over company decisions.
The international repercussion of the agreements has raised alerts that Venezuela may become a natural resource colony, raising concerns about the energy sovereignty of the South American country in light of the conditions imposed by the United States.
