Venezuela bets on $1.4B oil investment surge as reforms open sector to foreign capital
Delcy Rodríguez forecasts a 55 percent jump in oil funding after lawmakers advance sweeping reforms to attract global investors, aligning Caracas closer to Washington’s energy agenda.
Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodríguez on Monday forecast a $1.4 billion inflow of new oil investment in 2026, a 55 percent increase over last year, as her government pushes through major reforms to open the country’s vast energy sector to foreign and private capital.
Addressing oil executives, lawyers and lawmakers in Caracas, Rodríguez said the expected rise in investment reflects planned changes to the hydrocarbons law now before the National Assembly.
The legislation would end decades of tight state control, allowing private firms greater freedom to extract and commercialise crude — a sweeping shift from the era of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro.
“Last year, investment came to nearly $900 million and for this year, $1.4 billion in investments have been signed,” Rodriguez said, underscoring her goal of turning the nation with the world’s largest proven oil reserves into a “giant in production terms.”
Lawmakers under US pressure
Rodriguez’s drive to lure capital comes amid a rapid thaw in US–Venezuelan energy ties after the abduction of Maduro from earlier this month.
Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, lawmakers have endorsed reforms — initially cleared in a first parliamentary reading — that could pave the way for American and other global oil companies to operate more independently within the country’s oilfields.
Critics and industry executives say the draft reforms, while prompting immediate investment, may still fall short of the deeper legal clarity and protections needed to attract large-scale funding, with some arguing further changes are required to reassure foreign firms.
$300 already received
Rodriguez’s government has already started reaping financial benefits from renewed oil sales.
Earlier this month, she announced that Venezuela had received $300 million from oil revenues under a deal with Washington — marking the first inflows under a new trading arrangement since sanctions and production collapse in prior years.
The reforms also aim to boost output, with Venezuelan oil production rising from historic lows.
Officials and analysts say modernisation and private investment are key to reversing decades of decline, though political uncertainty, unresolved sanctions and legal questions continue to cloud the long-term outlook.