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"NABEP," the company selected to manage the agreement under which Washington will obtain a 20% share of Venezuela's massive oil reserves, announced on Tuesday the arrival of new oil equipment in the country.
Under an agreement announced in late August between Washington and Caracas, "North American Blue Energy Partners," the second-largest private oil company in Venezuela, will manage 100-year concessions for 17 crude oil fields with reserves of 65 billion barrels, according to the White House.
US President Donald Trump had welcomed the "biggest oil deal in the history of the world."
Under it, "NABEP" grants Washington the ability to purchase 20% of its production at cost price, and also granted a 35% stake in its parent company to an entity affiliated with the US Department of Defense.
Among the new equipment that arrived last week are two drilling rigs in addition to 11 new rigs dedicated to rehabilitating oil wells. The company said in a statement that it is "the first time in more than 15 years that new mobile systems have been used to repair and maintain wells in Venezuelan oil fields."
Alejandro Betancourt, the company's CEO, who is facing legal proceedings in Spain and Switzerland on charges of money laundering, affirmed that "every oil rig that arrives in Venezuela brings us closer to achieving our production goals and reviving our country's economy."
In June, Venezuela had only two drilling rigs in operation, according to the US company "Baker Hughes," compared to more than a hundred rigs two decades ago. Since then, the oil industry has witnessed a virtual collapse as a result of a lack of investment, corruption, and US sanctions.
Since the United States arrested President Nicolás Maduro in January, production volume has risen to reach about 1.2 million barrels per day, compared to 3 million barrels at the end of the twentieth century.
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