Venezuela announced on Thursday that it had granted licenses to three foreign companies to explore for and produce gas, as part of opening up the energy sector to foreign investment amid US pressure.
The move came after acting President Delcy Rodriguez amended the energy law, following the U.S. arrest of President Nicolas Maduro in January, allowing U.S. and other foreign companies to take advantage of Venezuela’s vast reserves of oil and other natural resources.
Since then, Caracas has entered into a number of agreements with foreign companies for the exploration, production and export of oil and gas.
However, the licensing process was temporarily halted following the two devastating earthquakes that struck the country on June 24, which resulted in more than 6,300 deaths.
The process resumed on Thursday, with licenses being granted to British Petroleum (BP), the UAE's XRG, and Qatar's UCC, to work on developing the Lorraine natural gas field.
Venezuela possesses the world's largest proven oil reserves, along with vast natural gas resources. In June, the government granted Shell a license to operate in another area of the Loran field.
Rodriguez said during the announcement of the new licenses on Thursday: "I have a particular interest in gas to promote national development."
In exchange for Caracas's steps to open the energy sector to foreign investment, the United States eased some of the sanctions it had imposed during Maduro's rule.
