Within an hour of lawmakers in Caracas voting to open the oil industry to private investment, the US Treasury Department issued a general license allowing US companies to trade with state oil firm PDVSA. Addressing oil industry workers, Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez hailed the reform as a "historical leap." - 'For the future' -Trump pressured Caracas to open up its oil fields to American investors after overthrowing his socialist arch-foe Nicolas Maduro in a deadly US raid on January 3. It modifies a law dating to 2006 that forced foreign investors to form joint ventures with state oil company PDVSA, which insisted on a majority stake. - New fields -The US Department of Energy has already unveiled a plan to develop Venezuela's oil industry and begun marketing Venezuelan crude.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha January 30, 2026 15:27 UTC