Venezuela Economy

Cheap Venezuelan oil to India turns costlier as traders eat into margins

Early this year, when sanctions were briefly lifted, state-run Venezuelan oil company PDVSA sold Venezuelan export benchmark Merey grade at a $20 per barrel discount to European benchmark Brent

Venezuela Oppn calls on US to cancel oil firm licences to pressure Maduro

Venezuela's main opposition coalition on Monday called on the US to cancel the licenses that allow Chevron and other energy companies to operate in the South American country to pressure President Nicols Maduro to negotiate a transition from power. The appeal came from an adviser to the campaign of Edmundo Gonzlez Urrutia, who represented the Unitary Platform coalition in the July 28 election, and his main backer, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Gonzlez and Machado claim their campaign won the vote by a wide margin, contradicting the decision of national electoral authorities to declare Maduro the winner. We want them cancelled this is a lifeline to the regime, adviser Rafael de la Cruz said in reference to the licenses during a panel discussion hosted by a Washington-based think tank. We want all the oil companies to go to Venezuela. So, it's not about the companies. It's about the situation that is impoverishing the country so badly that practically the whole population ..

Crude calculations: How cheaper Venezuelan oil flows will help India

The savings that feed into its refining margins prompted Reliance to secure Washington's blessings in July to import Venezuelan oil

Nicolas Maduro accuses Venezuela opposition of planning armed attack

The US has said it's clear the opposition won the most votes, a position shared by several countries

Venezuela election dispute traps travellers trying to leave country

The lack of options is stranding Venezuelans who live abroad but returned to vote in the July 28 election

Venezuela: Efforts underway to make Prez release election vote tallies

Diplomatic efforts are underway to persuade President Nicols Maduro to release vote tallies from Venezuela's presidential election, after opposition leaders disputed his claim of victory and amid increasing calls for an independent review of the results, according to officials from Brazil and Mxico. Government officials from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have been in constant communication with Maduro's administration to convince him that he must show the vote tally sheets from Sunday's election and allow impartial verification, a Brazilian government official told The Associated Press Thursday. The officials have told Venezuela's government that showing the data is the only way to dispel any doubt in the results, said the Brazilian official, who asked not be identified because they are not authorized to publicly speak about the diplomatic efforts. A Mexican official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the three governments have been discussing the issue with ...

Why Venezuela's prez elections should matter to the rest of the world

The future of Venezuela is on the line. Voters will decide Sunday whether to reelect President Nicolas Maduro, whose 11 years in office have been beset by crisis, or allow the opposition a chance to deliver on a promise to undo the ruling party's policies that caused economic collapse and forced millions to emigrate. Historically fractured opposition parties have coalesced behind a single candidate, giving the United Socialist Party of Venezuela its most serious electoral challenge in a presidential election in decades. Maduro is being challenged by former diplomat Edmundo Gonzlez Urrutia, who represents the resurgent opposition, and eight other candidates. Supporters of Maduro and Gonzalez marked the end of the official campaign season Thursday with massive demonstrations in the capital, Caracas. Here are some reasons why the election matters to the world: Migration impact. The election will impact migration flows regardless of the winner. The instability in Venezuela for the pas

Irrespective of who wins election, Venezuela faces natural gas problem

The South American country's output fell to 4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) this year from almost 8 bcfd in 2016, data from consultancy Gas Energy Latin America shows

Maduro seeks Venezuela military's support ahead of consequential vote

At a crossroads not far from a gas station overgrown with weeds, young men and women in faded green fatigues stop vehicles returning from a rally for opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, ask passengers for their identifications, and inspect their cars, trucks and motorcycles. Such checkpoints have proliferated across the country's vast tropical plains, forested highlands and beach fronts in the run-up to Sunday's presidential election, aiming to intimidate and occasionally detain government critics. They often involve a request for a ride, bananas or collaboration Venezuela's euphemism for a small bribe. But the power play frequently falls flat. When their superiors slip away from the scorching sun, the grunts betray their displeasure with Maduro and openness to a new commander in chief. Did the lady arrive? Were there a lot people? one giddy soldier asks about opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. We wanted to watch, but there is no Wi-Fi here, whispers another. S

US reimposes oil sanctions on Venezuela amid no fair presidential polls

The Biden administration on Wednesday reimposed crushing oil sanctions on Venezuela, admonishing President Nicols Maduro's attempts to consolidate his rule just six months after the U.S. eased restrictions in a bid to support now fading hopes for a democratic opening in the OPEC nation. A senior U.S. official, discussing the decision with reporters, said any U.S. company investing in Venezuela would have 45 days to wind down operations to avoid adding uncertainty to global energy markets. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. policy deliberations. In October, the U.S. granted Maduro's government relief from sanctions on its state-run oil, gas and mining sectors after it agreed to work with members of the opposition to hold a free and competitive presidential election this year. While Maduro went on to schedule an election for July and invite international observers to monitor voting, his inner circle has used the ruling party's total control over Venezuela

Venezuela electoral outcry: Oppn coalition registers provisional candidate

Venezuela's main opposition coalition said Tuesday afternoon that the country's government allowed them to register a provisional candidate for the upcoming presidential election, amid a wave of criticisms after opposition leaders said they were blocked from registering their candidate of choice the night before. The coalition, the Unitary Democratic Platform, said they temporarily enlisted former diplomat Edmundo Gonzlez Urrutia as their candidate as a way to "preserve the exercise of the political rights that correspond to our political organisation" until they are able to register another candidate. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the coalition said it was not allowed to access the registration system, but was later granted an extension. It is the latest in a chaotic electoral process surrounding Venezuela's July 28 election as the government of President Nicols Maduro has cracked down on the opposition despite promises to pave the way to democratic elections in exchange for ...

Venezuela's main oppn coalition unable to register presidential candidate

The main Venezuelan opposition coalition said early Tuesday that electoral authorities didn't let it register its presidential candidate as the deadline ended, in what it called the latest violation to the citizens' right to vote for change in the South American country. The candidate, Corina Yoris, could not be registered by midnight Monday, which was the time limit for registering for the election set for July 28, said Omar Barboza, representative of the US-backed Unitary Platform coalition. On a video posted on the Unitary Platform X account, Barboza said this was a violation of the right of the majority of Venezuelans who want to vote for change, and he demanded the registry be reopened. Yoris, an 80-year-old unknown newcomer, was named Friday the substitute to opposition leader Mara Corina Machado, who faces a government ban on her running for office. Hours before the opposition coalition couldn't register Yoris, President Nicols Maduro got the support of thousands as he made

Maduro begins re-election run while rival struggles to register candidacy

It's a tale of two dramatically different political campaigns. On Monday, throngs of supporters of President Nicols Maduro rallied at a giant stage draped in the red, yellow and blue colors of Venezuela's flag outside the electoral council headquarters where he is expected to make official his candidacy for a third term. Meanwhile, his would-be rivals tried to register their candidate, an 80-year-old unknown newcomer, before a midnight deadline but found they were unable to do so in what the opposition denounced as the latest attack on Venezuela's democracy. Polls show that Venezuelans would trounce the unpopular Maduro by a landslide if given half a chance. But the self-proclaimed socialist leader has so far managed to block his chief opponents from running while alternately negotiating and then reneging on minimal electoral guarantees promised to the U.S. government in exchange for relief from oil sanctions In a creative attempt to force Maduro's authoritarian hand, two smaller .

Highlights of the day: 2 killed in clash between ethnic groups in Manipur

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US pulls some of Venezuela's sanctions relief as court blocks oppn leader

The US government on Monday pulled back part of the sanctions relief it granted Venezuela last year, following through on its threat after the South American country's highest court blocked the presidential candidacy of an opposition leader. The Department of the Treasury gave companies transacting with Venezuela's state-owned mining company until February 13 to wind down operations. The department had allowed transactions with the mining company in October after the government of President Nicols Maduro reached an agreement with the US-backed opposition faction to work toward levelling the playing field ahead of the presidential election. On Friday, however, the prospect of a free presidential election was dealt a heavy blow when the country's highest court upheld a ban on the candidacy of Mara Corina Machado, a longtime government foe and winner of the primary held by the opposition. Machado, a former lawmaker, won the opposition's independently run presidential primary with more

Guyana rejects quest for US military base as dispute with Venezuela deepens

Guyana's Attorney General Anil Nandlall said on Thursday that Guyana's government has reassured neighbouring Venezuela there is no plan for the US to establish a military base in the South American country and that it has not made a formal request for one. Nandlall spoke to The Associated Press days after Daniel P. Erikson, US deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Western Hemisphere, visited Guyana and one day after Guyanese officials announced they were seeking help from the US to improve its defence capabilities. Nandlall and other officials in Guyana have sought to temper tensions with Venezuela over a disputed region known as Essequibo rich in oil and minerals that represents two-thirds of Guyana and that Venezuela claims as its own. We have not been approached by the United States to establish a military base in Guyana, said Guyanese Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, adding that the government does not conduct public policy at press conferences. Erikson visited just weeks

India to resume Venezuelan oil purchases, says Hardeep Singh Puri

India is willing to buy oil from any country that is not sanctioned, the minister added

LIVE: Hiranandani confesses helping LS MP Moitra in attacking Adani group

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Oil prices slip as Venezuela sanctions ease, Middle East in focus

Saudi Arabia had said it would keep its voluntary cut until the end of the year

US eases oil, gas, sanctions on Venezuela after electoral roadmap signed

In response to Venezuela's government and a faction of its opposition formally agreeing to work together to reach a series of basic conditions for the next presidential election, the US agreed Wednesday to temporarily suspend some sanctions on the country's oil, gas and gold sectors. Tuesday's agreement between President Nicols Maduro's administration and the Unitary Platform came just days before the opposition holds a primary to pick its candidate for the 2024 presidential election. The US Treasury issued a six-month general license that would temporarily authorise transactions involving Venezuela's oil and gas sector, another that authorizes dealings with Minerven the state-owned gold mining company and it removed the secondary trading ban on certain Venezuelan sovereign bonds. The ban on trading in the primary Venezuelan bond market remains in place, Treasury says. Brian E. Nelson, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the US welcomes the .