Step taken over oil revenue

CARACAS: Venezuela’s oppositioncontrolled congress named new temporary boards of directors to stateoil firm PDVSA yesterday, in an effort to wrest the nation’s oil revenue from increasingly isolated President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro lashed out at the congress leader, Juan Guaido, saying he would face the courts ‘‘sooner or later’’ for violating the constitution, after Guaido invoked constitutional provisions last month to assume an interim presidency.

Although many Western countries have recognised Guaido as the legitimate head of state, Maduro retains control of state institutions and Guaido needs funds if he is to assemble an interim government.

Controlling PDVSA’s US refiner Citgo Petroleum, Venezuela’s most valuable foreign asset, would go some way to helping in that, though seizing the reins of PDVSA itself seems improbable while Maduro remains in power.

‘‘We have taken a step forward with the reconstruction of PDVSA,’’ Guaido said on Twitter, just after congress named the directors.

‘‘With this decision, we are not only protecting our assets, we also avoid continued destruction.’’

PDVSA’s crude output has slumped to 70year lows, due to crushing debts, widespread corruption, and little maintenance of its infrastructure.

The mechanics of how the new board would take over are unclear, and there are likely to be court challenges to the board’s authority.

Bulgarian security officials said yesterday the country had blocked transfers out of several bank accounts which have received millions of euros from PDVSA. — Reuters