Venezuela turns to China to help cut through US oil sanctions

Seemingly resigned to the reality that the Biden administration in Washington is not about to perform a volte face from the economic sanctions that have strangled international oil sales and effected a serious body blow to his country’s economy, President Nicolas Maduro is in the process of embracing China as a key ally in a broader quest to attract investment to Venezuela’s oil industry and hopefully open the door to a share of a global market.

Reports from Caracas indicate that engineers from the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), no strangers to the Venezuelan oil industry, along with Chinese commercial staff will returning there reportedly to oversee maintenance on Venezuelan oil infrastructure and also to join forces with the stateowned oil company, PDVSA in an effort to raise production level.

There appears to be no clear indication as to just what the overall Caracas/Beijing game plan is, though indications that the Chinese might be returning to Venezuela after two years of virtually having stayed away altogether amount to an important sign. A return to Caracas by the CNPC will likely to go a long way towards Venezuela’s efforts to triple its crude oil production by the end of 2021, a target, which if reached, would mark a considerable recovery from the devastating losses the country’s economy has suffered on account of the sanctions imposed on crude exports by the US.