In a post Monday on the social media platform Telegram, she said Venezuela’s oil industry is following “the plan outlined to increase production at various fields,” referring to the state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).
“International companies operating in the country without a license from any foreign government are functioning at full capacity,” Rodriguez added.
Transnational companies whose licenses to operate in the Latin American country were revoked by the United States government “are welcome to continue participating in production within the win-win framework of contracts signed with the national industry,” she said.
Regarding gas production, Rodriguez said the PDVSA is maintaining its “rising” output for the local market supply.
In voicing Venezuela’s rejection to Washington revoking the licenses of transnational oil companies doing business in the country, she noted Venezuela doesn’t recognize nor approve any extraterritorial jurisdiction practice by a foreign government.
The transnationals earlier on Monday receiving the U.S. notification of license revocation included Spain’s Repsol, Italy’s Eni, the U.S. Global Oil Terminals, the French oil group Maurel & Prom and India’s Reliance Industries.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has since March barred U.S. energy companies from operating in Venezuela, ending a partial waiver under the previous administration of President Joe Biden of years of sanctions imposed against the oil producing country in 2019.
On March 24, Trump announced a 25 percent “secondary tariff” to take effect from April 2 against countries buying Venezuelan gas and oil products, in a punitive move he said against Venezuela’s outflow of refugees and migrants to the United States.
