Venezuelan oil revival is US$100bil gamble

Uncertain times: Rodriguez (centre) speaking during a council of ministers meeting in Caracas. Things remain far from certain how Venezuela’s political transition will unfold and what the environment will be like for US oil companies to operate in the country. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Realising President Donald Trump’s plan for a US-led revival of Venezuela’s beleaguered oil industry could be a years-long and challenging process costing upwards of US$100bil.

Years of corruption, underinvestment, fires and thefts have left the nation’s crude infrastructure in tatters.