REGULATORY · MARKET STRUCTURE · VENEZUELA
Rodriguez signs law opening oil sector to private participation
Change
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez signed an oil reform law on January 29, 2026, that paves the way for increased privatisation of Venezuela's nationalised oil sector.
Why it matters
The National Assembly, dominated by members of Rodriguez’s United Socialist Party, passed the reform before the president signed it. Rodriguez held a public signing ceremony with state oil workers on January 29, 2026. The law alters the statutory framework governing ownership and participation in the nationalised oil sector. The reform text is written to enable increased privatisation and private investment structures within that sector.
Implications
- · Establishes statutory authority for private-sector contracts and investment arrangements in the national oil sector.
- · Reconfigures governance and ownership arrangements of state-owned oil assets under the new legal framework.
- · Creates new administrative and contracting responsibilities for energy regulators and state oil company managers.
Who is affected
- · State oil company operators and managers
- · State oil sector workers
- · Private oil companies and investors
- · Government energy regulators and ministers
Source
Topics
World & Politics Policy & Regulation Energy & Power Oil & Gas