Jan 22 (Reuters) – A profound proposed reform of Venezuela’s hydrocarbons law would allow foreign and local companies to operate oilfields on their own through a new contract model, commercialize output and receive sale proceeds even if acting as minority partners of state company PDVSA, drafts seen by Reuters on Thursday showed.
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez last week submitted the reform proposal, expected to deeply modify the backbone of the OPEC country’s oil industry by changing late President Hugo Chavez’s landmark oil law, to the National Assembly.
Lawmakers are scheduled to begin its discussion on Thursday, following a flagship 50-million-barrel oil supply deal between Caracas and Washington this month, agreed after the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
Oil executives and potential investors as part of Washington’s ambitious $100 billion reconstruction plan for Venezuela’s energy industry are demanding autonomy to produce, export and cash sale proceeds in the country after Chavez’s nationalizations and assets expropriations two decades ago.
The proposal would allow the government to adjust royalties down to 15%, from a current rate of 33%, for special projects and those requiring massive investments. It also adds the possibility of resorting to independent arbitration to solve controversies.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Julia Symmes Cobb)
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