For more than a decade, most major Western oil companies have had little access to Venezuela’s reserves, the world’s largest, owing to a wave of nationalizations of their operations in the country in the mid-2000s and subsequent US sanctions.

Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story Trump removes some Venezuelan oil sanctions The U.S. is lifting some sanctions on Venezuelan oil, seeking to allow American firms to trade and sell more oil that is produced there.

Parliament on Thursday approved a reform of Venezuela's Hydrocarbons Law, tightened under socialist ex-leader Hugo Chavez in 2006 to entrench state control over a resource Venezuela has more of than any other country on Earth.

Venezuela's acting president signs law ending state oil monopoly, reversing decades of socialist policy to allow private companies control of the industry.

Venezuela voted to lower royalties and offer more control to foreign companies, and the Trump administration eased oil sanctions. The post How two big changes make Venezuelan oil more open to US investors appeared first on Straight Arrow News.

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday signed a law that opens the nation’s oil sector to privatization, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.

ExxonMobil and Chevron said Friday that they were awaiting signs of greater fiscal and legal stability in Venezuela before significantly shifting their approach to the oil-rich country.

Exxon maintains long-term interest in Venezuela despite Trump's threat to keep the company out, while Chevron aims to hike its Venezuelan volumes without any additional capital influx.