Oil: Trump’s interest in Venezuela – The Issue #1633

Venezuela currently holds around 17% of all known oil reserves in the world, according to OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) — more than any other country. This abundance has always attracted external interests and shaped internal decisions by Venezuelan governments. Local production, which reached 3.7 million barrels in 1970, has plummeted and today barely reaches 1 million barrels per day. Since the rise of Chavismo, with Hugo Chávez and in recent years with the dictator Nicolás Maduro, multinationals were sidelined and exploitation was concentrated in the state-owned PDVSA. It is in this scenario of decline that Donald Trump anchors the argument to justify his offensive in Venezuela. In his speech after Maduro’s capture, Trump said the word oil 18 times. For the US president, the Venezuelan oil industry needs to be resumed — this time, under American command. In this episode, Natuza Nery talks to David Zylbersztajn, former director general of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) and professor at the Energy Institute at PUC-Rio. He recalls Venezuela’s rise as an oil exploration power and explains why the country’s historical reserves have not been converted into wealth for the Venezuelan population. Finally, Zylbersztajn analyzes what could happen to the price of oil amid Maduro’s ouster and uncertainty about the Caribbean country’s political future. Guest: David Zylbersztajn, former director general of the National Petroleum Agency and prof. from the PUC-Rio Energy Institute. What you need to know: UNDERSTAND: Why Venezuela’s oil is so important to the US After capture, Trump government backs down on accusation that Maduro headed a drug cartel INFOGRAPHIC: See the details and timeline of the US attack on Venezuela Maduro’s capture operation violated ‘fundamental principle’ of international law, says UN THE ISSUE #1632: America: a continent in Trump’s sights THE ISSUE #1631: Venezuela invaded by Trump and the deposition of Maduro The podcast O Assunto is produced by: Mônica Mariotti, Amanda Polato, Sarah Resende, Luiz Felipe Silva, Thiago Kaczuroski and Carlos Catelan. Collaborated on this episode: Paula Paiva Paulo. Presentation: Natuza Nery. O Susunto is the daily podcast produced by g1, available on all audio platforms and on YouTube. Since its debut in August 2019, the O Assunto podcast has had more than 168 million downloads across all audio platforms. On YouTube, g1’s daily podcast has more than 14.2 million views. United States attack on Venezuela affects the oil market Reproduction/TV Globo

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