Venezuela clarified that it maintains "control and ownership" of oil after the agreement with the United States to explore a fifth of the country's crude oil reserves, the largest in the world. The Minister of Hydrocarbons, Paula Henao, stated in an interview with the Venevisión channel that it is a "commercial agreement" to bring investment and technology to the country, denying that Venezuela has lost sovereignty.
The agreement has a validity of 25 years and involves the development of 17 fields with total reserves of 65 billion barrels, with a production target exceeding 1.5 million barrels per day. Venezuela currently produces an average of 1.24 million barrels per day. The 17 fields were assigned to North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), which granted the US Department of Defense a 35% shareholding. Behind NABEP is businessman Alejandro Betancourt, under investigation in Spain and Switzerland for alleged money laundering and tax fraud.
China demanded that its interests in Venezuela be safeguarded, after news that the new agreement could affect fields where Chinese companies such as state-owned Sinopec and CNPC operated. Paula Henao guaranteed that Venezuela respects the oil agreements signed with China and Russia, which are joint ventures with authorization to carry out primary activities in force.
