Why Oil Majors Are Hesitant to Invest in Post-Maduro Venezuela
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
The mainstream framing treats the “wee-hours” ouster of Maduro as a clever geopolitical hack: swap regimes, flip a switch, and oil majors will rush in. That story flatters Washington’s sense of control, but it skips the hard part, what comes after the cameras turn off. Oil companies are hesitant because Venezuela is a case study in **property rights** wrecked by politics.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
The U.S. stood the energy world on its ear with the “wee-hours” takedown of the Maduro regime just as the New Year began. One of the principal aims of the administration was made abundantly clear in the press conference that detailed the stunning shift in energy geopolitics that had been effected just a few hours before.
In addition to bringing Nicolas Maduro to justice, the U.S. was taking over the administration of the country’s oil sector with the express ambition of revitalizing it and increasing production. Estimates were
Original source:
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The mainstream framing treats the “wee-hours” ouster of Maduro as a clever geopolitical hack: swap regimes, flip a switch, and oil majors will rush in. That story flatters Washington’s sense of control, but it skips the hard part, what comes after the cameras turn off.
Oil companies are hesitant because Venezuela is a case study in property rights wrecked by politics. If the U.S. is “taking over” the oil sector, investors hear rule of law uncertainty, not stability. Who owns what, what contracts survive, and what happens when the next government rejects today’s deals? Those questions matter more than headline barrels.
A serious approach would prioritize institutional stability over management-by-press-conference, and public trust over quick extraction. And if this is about U.S. interests, national security is served best by predictable partners and enforceable rules, not improvised trusteeships.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.