Venezuela expects to attract nearly $76 billion in oil investments over the next five years under recently signed agreements, acting President Delcy Rodriguez said on Saturday. A bilateral accord with the United States includes plans to drill 250 rigs and covers 17 oilfields, forming part of a broader package of 61 agreements signed by the two sides.Rodriguez said the proposed investments would deliver direct gains for Venezuela while also benefiting its partners.“Major investments are coming,” she said. “We are talking about investment of almost $76 billion over five years. Those investments will translate into direct benefits for our country in a win-win partnership, because our partner will also benefit.”The agreements come as Venezuela opens up its energy sector to overseas investors following the removal of President Nicolas Maduro in January. The process has the backing of US President Donald Trump’s administration.The proposed investments could help lift oil production in a country that holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves but is producing far less than it did a decade ago.Rodriguez also cited rising output in Zulia, a western Venezuelan state, where production has climbed from 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 370,000 bpd. She expects output to reach 400,000 bpd by the end of this year, although she did not specify when the increase from 70,000 bpd began.The country’s oil sector has struggled with prolonged underinvestment, operational difficulties at state-owned oil company PDVSA and US sanctions targeting the energy industry.Meanwhile, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in a US court earlier this week as they prepared to respond to an expanded indictment accusing them of conspiring to torture political opponents.The new charges, brought last Thursday, broaden the criminal case against the former Venezuelan president, 63, and Flores, 70. Both had earlier pleaded not guilty to allegations that they abused their positions to help drug traffickers transport cocaine. Their lawyers have also said they deny the torture allegations.The couple were captured by the US military in a raid ordered by Trump in January and subsequently flown to New York.
