Venezuela on Thursday unveiled significant reforms to its oil industry and welcomed the reopening of commercial airspace as part of a broader shift following a tumultuous political shake-up that saw President Nicolas Maduro abducted by the US in early January.
In Caracas, lawmakers and acting President Delcy Rodriguez enacted a wide-ranging overhaul of the nation’s hydrocarbons laws aimed at dismantling elements of the state’s long-held oil monopoly, previously maintained by the state-owned giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and inviting greater private and foreign participation in the country’s energy sector.
Key provisions of the law include lowering taxes and royalties to ensure project competitiveness and giving private producers the autonomy to manage their own oilfields, handle asset transfers, and outsource operations without mandatory PDVSA majority control.
The law also requires that legal disputes be resolved in international or US courts rather than the Venezuelan judicial system.
The legal changes are a direct response to a proposed $100 billion reconstruction plan for the Venezuelan oil industry, championed by the Trump administration.
Rodriguez called the reform a “historic qualitative leap” that could unlock Venezuela’s vast proven reserves and restore the country as a major producer, as US companies begin surveying potential opportunities on the ground.
Within hours of the oil reform enactment, the US Treasury Department issued a general licence easing several sanctions on Venezuelan crude, allowing US firms to trade, transport, refine and market Venezuelan-origin oil — effectively clearing commercial pathways that had been blocked for years.
Commercial flights set to return
In a related development, Venezuela’s acting President Rodriguez on Thursday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s announcement that Venezuela’s airspace will be reopened to commercial flights, calling on airlines and investors to return to the country.
Speaking in the capital, Rodriguez announced that all commercial airspace restrictions imposed since November 2025 have been lifted.
Emphasising that she discussed the issue directly with Trump, she said: “All airline companies that are supposed to come should come.”
She held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, she said, stressing that significant steps were being taken between the two countries.
“We are talking about the removal of all restrictions on Venezuela’s commercial airspace. All airlines and investors who should come must come to our country,” Rodriguez said.
