About This Book
Since 2013, following policies that led to the collapse of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), new oil contracts have been introduced to gradually increase private investment outside the framework of the Organic Law of Hydrocarbons. By 2018, these contracts, mainly oil services agreements, transferred production activities—traditionally exclusive to operating companies and joint ventures—into private hands. The U.S. sanctions on Venezuela encouraged the use of these contractual arrangements, supported by flexible licensing policies from 2022 to 2024. The unconstitutional Anti-Blockade Law led to the creation of the productive participation contract (CPP), which became PDVSA's main tool for engaging the private sector despite a lack of transparency. The book explores the origins and content of the CPP, considering the de facto privatization of the oil industry and sanction pressures, with particular focus on Chevron's role as a minority partner in joint ventures and as a CPP contractor, reinforced by the U.S. individual license issued in late July 2025
