Index/Topics/Venezuela oil sector

Venezuela oil sector

The oil sector in Venezuela, including exports and international partnerships

Fact-Checks

35 results
Jan 6, 2026
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Are native Venezuelans happy with the current state of the country?

Venezuelans are not uniformly happy with the current state of the country; reactions range from ecstatic celebration among many in the diaspora to cautious hope, deep uncertainty and outright anger in...

Jan 12, 2026
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Prior to Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, were US Oil Companies invested heavily there? Which ones

Yes — long before Nicolás Maduro’s rule, U.S. oil companies were heavily invested in Venezuela: American majors dominated early 20th‑century development, suffered large‑scale expropriations at nationa...

Jan 8, 2026
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Which U.S. oil companies have active legal claims against Venezuela and what are the sizes of those claims?

Two legacy U.S. oil majors — ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips — are the principal American firms with active, high‑value legal claims stemming from Venezuela’s 2007 nationalizations, with Conoco’s arbitr...

Jan 14, 2026

Have oil companies agreed to invest in Venezuela

President Trump publicly urged U.S. and international oil firms to invest roughly $100 billion in Venezuela’s dilapidated oil sector after the U.S. intervention that deposed Nicolás Maduro, but there ...

Jan 12, 2026

What historical claims does Venezuela cite to justify annexing Guyana?

Venezuela bases its claim to much of Guyana—principally the Essequibo region—on a mix of colonial-era boundary interpretations, rejection of the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award as illegitimate, and a narrat...

Jan 14, 2026

Which smaller oil companies or service providers have shown interest in short-term Venezuela projects?

Smaller independent oil firms and service providers — not the U.S. supermajors — have surfaced as the likeliest near-term actors willing to engage in short-term Venezuela projects, with U.S. officials...

Jan 13, 2026

Are donald trumps assets seized now

The short answer is: not wholesale and not yet — New York Attorney General filings have created a legal path to seize or lien Donald Trump’s property over a roughly $454 million civil judgment if he d...

Jan 11, 2026

What role have U.S. government policies played in helping or hindering oil companies' recovery of expropriation awards in Venezuela?

U.S. government policies have acted as both an enabler and an obstacle to oil companies seeking to recover expropriation awards from Venezuela: U.S. courts and some executive actions have converted ar...

Jan 10, 2026

how long will it take to bring Venezuelas oil refineries up to operation

Restoring Venezuela’s refineries to meaningful operation will be a phased, multi-year process: some limited output and commercial flows can resume within months under a coordinated external program, b...

Jan 10, 2026

How have US sanctions and recent military actions changed the legal enforceability of China and Russia’s oil-for-loan contracts with Venezuela?

United States sanctions and recent U.S. military actions have materially weakened the practical—and therefore legal—enforceability of oil-for-loan arrangements between Venezuela and its Chinese and Ru...

Jan 9, 2026

What legal mechanisms and international courts handled compensation claims against Venezuela for oil nationalizations?

Multiple legal pathways—primarily international arbitration forums and, in parallel, U.S. courts invoking the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA)—have handled compensation claims arising from Vene...

Jan 9, 2026

Which international arbitration cases have ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil won against Venezuela and what sums were awarded?

ConocoPhillips secured a multi-billion‑dollar victory against Venezuela in two international forums: an ICSID tribunal awarded roughly $8.7 billion (often reported as $8.5–8.7 billion) for unlawful ex...

Jan 9, 2026

How much oil was stolen by Venezuela from BP?

There is no factual, sourced figure in the reporting that quantifies "how much oil was stolen by Venezuela from BP"; major outlets and experts describe nationalisations and restructurings of foreign o...

Jan 8, 2026

What was the situation with the US and Venezuela oil 20 years ago

In 2006 the United States remained Venezuela’s single most important trading partner, importing large volumes of Venezuelan crude even as political relations soured under President Hugo Chávez’s refor...

Jan 8, 2026

the list of names of senators receiving money from venezuela

There is currently no verified, publicly available list of U.S. senators who “received money from Venezuela” as claimed in viral social posts; independent fact‑checks found no evidence that ex‑Venezue...

Jan 8, 2026

Which foreign companies have formally signed lithium exploration or production agreements with Venezuela since 2023?

Available reporting in the provided set does not identify any foreign company that has formally signed a lithium exploration or production agreement with Venezuela since 2023; the sources instead docu...

Jan 7, 2026

What oil companies were nationalized in Venezuela

Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in two major waves: a broad, legal nationalization that created state oil company PDVSA on January 1, 1976, and a later campaign under President Hugo Chávez in ...

Jan 7, 2026

How much diluent (naphtha/condensate) does Venezuela need monthly to run at 1–2 million bpd of extra‑heavy sales?

Venezuela’s Orinoco extra‑heavy crudes require large volumes of lighter diluents (naphtha or condensate) at typical blend ratios of roughly 20–40% by volume to reach pipeline and export specifications...

Jan 7, 2026

Did Venezuela have an agreement with China to sell oil in a basket of BRICS currencies?

Reporting shows Venezuela has for years sold significant volumes of oil to China and has used the Chinese yuan in some transactions and pricing declarations, but there is no contemporaneous, verifiabl...

Jan 7, 2026

Claims the U.S. is bombing Venezuela, that 70% of Americans oppose war with Venezuela, and that the motive is to steal oil

The United States carried out a large-scale military operation against Venezuela on 3 January 2026 that included airstrikes across northern Venezuela and the capture and removal of President Nicolás M...