The Venezuelan government is circulating a 63-page draft of regulations designed to give effect to its newly passed hydrocarbons law, establishing the operational, technical and fiscal guardrails private companies would need to follow to invest in the nation’s oil and gas assets.
First reported by Bloomberg News, the document lays out the regulatory controls that would apply to both foreign and local operators seeking to develop Venezuela’s hydrocarbon reserves. The draft addresses a wide range of issues, from technical and operational standards to fiscal terms and regulatory oversight.
Under the proposed framework, private enterprises would be permitted to operate within areas that have been historically dominated by state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) - including oil refining, upgrading and international trading. The text formally abrogates the country’s longstanding 1943 oil law along with its 1969 implementing regulations.
At the same time PDVSA has begun circulating a separate contract model to international drilling companies, a step that the state firm is using to initiate formal operational negotiations with potential partners.
Political and sanction context
The regulatory push follows the passage of the new hydrocarbons law in January, which occurred shortly after the United States government forcibly removed former President Nicolas Maduro from power and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez assumed the interim presidency. In parallel with that political transition, the U.S. Treasury started lifting severe oil and financial sanctions as part of a coordinated three-phase program aimed at stabilization, economic recovery and political transition to reintegrate Venezuela into the international financial system.
Key regulatory features
The circulated draft introduces several specific mandates for the domestic industry. Among them are provisions on localized use of resources, oilfield unitization, the reversion of certain data back to the state, and mechanisms for tracking greenhouse gas emissions.
An industry assessment posted by Miami-based energy specialist and arbitrator Elisabeth Eljuri highlights a provision in the draft that, in her view, makes it mandatory to undertake enhanced recovery and secondary recovery methods in every project. Eljuri’s evaluation underscores the draft’s emphasis on recovery techniques as a statutory obligation rather than a discretionary operational choice.
Responses and timeline
Requests for comment about the timing of the regulations’ finalization went unanswered by Venezuela’s oil ministry and its information ministry. The draft’s circulation signals a formal step toward implementation, but the ministries did not provide details on when the regulations would be enacted or take effect.
The draft represents a comprehensive attempt to redefine how private capital can participate in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, while also embedding technical and environmental requirements as part of contractual and operational terms. The simultaneous distribution of a PDVSA contract template indicates the state’s intention to commence negotiations with international operators under the new legal framework.