A beneficial relationship is being set up in Paris for multiple players in the energy and geopolitical markets of Western countries, including the sanctioned Venezuela, experts point out.
The presidency of France, under the guidance of Emmanuel Macron, called this Monday at the G7 Summit in Elmau, Germany, for the diversification of oil supply sources, among which mentioned Venezuela and Irancountries to which the United States applied financial restrictions for years.
The purchase of Venezuelan and Iranian crude would make it possible to curb the rise in prices on international markets. “Venezuelan oil must also be able to return to the market,” said the seat of French political power, hoping that the producing countries “pump more (their products) exceptionally.”
It would be convenient and I would get better prices”
Although Macron’s office noted that this is an issue that should be discussed with its allies, including the United States, this possible resumption of energy trade is “convenient” for the South American country, according to the former financial manager of the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela Gilberto Morillo.
The expert tells the voice of america that Venezuela could make better profits from its roughly 700,000 barrels of crude per day if it decides not to ship it to destinations as far away and at deep discounts as India or China.
“For Venezuela, it is preferable to sell it to western clients who would pay market prices and not have to make discounts and send it to distant places, where freight eats up part of the price. It is very convenient, ”she diagnoses.
The shipment of between 200,000 and 400,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude to Europe and the United States could “be a contribution” to the quota that these clients, previously traditional to the political power of Caracas, urgently need, he estimates.
It is a pragmatic decision, but it will depend on sustainability and infrastructure”
Carlos Ñáñez, economist and university professor of international economics and monetary policy theory, explains that the eventual resumption of the purchase of Venezuelan crude by traditional clients such as France can open the door to alleviate the “complex” energy situation in Europe due to the invasion of Russia to Ukraine, which led to sanctions and vetoes on Kremlin products.
Remember that the statement from Macron’s office occurs just days after the United States authorized the shipment of a shipment of 650,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil to the companies Eni, from Italy, and Repsol, from Spain.
Ñáñez is concerned about the state of the refineries, the production capacity of the oil industry and the “technical muscle” of the Venezuelan State to once again serve traditional clients. “His ability is in open question,” he says.
The possibility that France opens up stems from the oil “drought” and would seek to satisfy the requirements of Europe and the United States, which would make a “pragmatic decision” before Maduro to fill their energy quotas, he believes.
political brake
Nicolás Maduro himself declared this Monday “ready” to resume energy operations not only with France, but with the rest of the world.
“Venezuela is ready to welcome all French companies that want to come and produce oil and gas for the European and world markets. Welcome, whenever you want”, expressed the dignitary in a televised act.
The French oil company TotalEnergies had assets in Venezuela before the United States announced economic sanctions against the Madurista government, with a special focus on the energy industry since 2019.
It was participating in a gas exploitation project in Guárico state, in the center of the country, but last year it decided to withdraw its shares from a joint venture with which it produced up to 50 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The express intention of France regarding crude oil from Venezuela preceded the visit of a high-level delegation of the United States government to Caracas, headed by Ambassador James Story and who met with Maduro’s chief delegate for the dialogue in Mexico City, Jorge Rodríguez.
These political events are circumscribed not only in an economic interest of the actors involved, but also political, warns the political scientist with studies in international oil trade, Carlos Eduardo Piña.
Venezuelan oil is of “strategic” interest for Europe in the face of normalizing relations with Maduro and having, in turn, an alternative to Russian oil supplies, he remarks in an interview with the VOA.
This exceptional measure could involve a series of risks”
“This exceptional measure could imply a series of risks for the policy of diplomatic pressure that the West has carried out against Maduro. A possible Venezuelan reinsertion in the international oil market would mean, in practice, establishing direct channels of communication with the government”, he indicates.
Piña says that she notices an “advantageous position” of the Madurista government in a possible negotiation, since the United States and Europe have as a priority to avoid a scenario of volatility in the world energy market.
Venezuela’s crude oil will serve to “move the economy and warm the citizens” of France in the winter, observes the diplomat, sociologist and specialist with postgraduate studies in economics, Alfredo Michelena.
“Venezuelan oil production, although reduced, could contribute. It would be silly for Maduro not to take advantage of these circumstances [geopolíticas] to recover the oil industry”, he comments to the voice of america.
Michelena points out that both the United States and the European Union cannot “go further and faster” in this energy reincorporation of Venezuela without resolving the negotiations for free and transparent presidential elections in the South American nation, sometime in 2024.
“How much and who will give? It is the question that remains in the air. The US and Europe have already taken symbolic steps”, values the specialist.
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