Venezuela’s petroleum minister, Tareck El Aissami, tendered his resignation on March 20, citing plans to assist in the investigative process regarding corruption at state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
“By virtue of investigations initiated into serious acts of corruption in PDVSA, I’ve made the decision to present my resignation as minister of petroleum, with the purpose of fully supporting, accompanying and backing this process,” El Aissami said March 20 in a post on Twitter.
The government official extended his services to Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro in a crusade to stamp out corruption at the Caracas-based energy giant.
It is unclear who will replace El Aissami and Venezuela’s Communication Ministry didn’t immediately reply to an email request from Hart Energy seeking details around the development.
PDVSA has suffered from a mismanagement of oil rents first under late President Hugo Chávez, who served in office from 1999 to 2013, and now under Maduro (2013 to the present).
For the better part of two-decades, foreign partners have struggled with corruption at PDVSA and the petroleum ministry, which has impacted E&Ps investment decisions and ability to stop production declines. U.S. sanctions imposed on Venezuela in early 2019 resulted in further production declines and near complete collapse in production.
RELATED: Chart Talk: Venezuela’s Depressing Oil Sector Salaries
Venezuela, home to the world’s largest oil reserves, produced just around 700,000 bbl/d in Feb. 2023, according to OPEC data based on secondary sources, down from 3.2 MMbbl/d in 1997.
Recommended Reading
US Geothermal Sector Gears Up for Commercial Liftoff
2024-04-17 - Experts from the U.S. Department of Energy discuss geothermal energy’s potential following the release of the liftoff report.
Brightcore Energy Begins Geothermal Project at Bard College
2024-02-28 - Brightcore Energy’s project will replace college’s current fossil fuel fired- system at the school’s library.
Energy Transition in Motion (Week of April 12, 2024)
2024-04-12 - Here is a look at some of this week’s renewable energy news, including a renewable energy milestone for the U.S.
Sage Geosystems Advances Commercial-scale Energy Storage Facility
2024-05-02 - The 3-megawatt facility in Texas is expected to become the world’s first commercial geopressured geothermal system when it’s commissioned in December.
Devon Energy Leads $244MM Funding Round for Fervo Energy
2024-02-29 - The funds will finance Fervo Energy’s next phase of growth as it puts to use oil and gas technology and techniques to scale geothermal energy.