Page 8 - LatAmOil Week 17 2022

LatAmOil BARBADOS LatAmOil

The two offshore blocks are adjacent (Image: Government of Barbados)
Even if these two blocks are not subject to the “While the Carlisle Bay and Bimshire blocks
2020 agreement signed between Port of Spain do not touch the Barbados-Trinidad and Tobago
and Bridgetown that provides for joint develop- maritime border, the expectation would be that
ment of offshore resources that cross the mari- any exploration and development activity on the
time border, they are still close to Trinidad and blocks would be staged out of Trinidad, with its
Tobago, the statement noted. well-developed energy services sector,” it said. ™

VENEZUEL A
Venezuelan opposition says reform should

be a condition for lifting US oil sanctions

VENEZUELA’S political opposition will con-
tinue to insist that the US government make
lifting sanctions on the South American state’s
oil sector conditional on significant political
and electoral reform, an oil and energy advisor
to opposition leader Juan Guaido told Argus
Media earlier this week.
The advisor, who was not named, said that
the opposition would not waver on its demand
for elections that were fair, free and verifiable.
If Washington eliminates sanctions on the oil
industry without taking steps to ensure that
these terms are upheld, he said, it will only Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido (Photo: Twitter/@Presidencia_VE)
be ensuring that President Nicolas Maduro
remains in power in Caracas. came under fire following claims that he had
“The US cannot just walk back foreign policy used fraudulent means to gain re-election in
[sanctions] just like that,” he told Argus. late 2018. However, there have been unofficial
The spokesman’s remarks came shortly after reports that Washington has asked Caracas to
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez increase oil production in order to make up for
reported that the Maduro administration had the Russian barrels taken off the world mar-
“reformatted” its efforts to establish a new dia- ket following the imposition of separate trade
logue with Washington. US officials have not restrictions on Moscow.
said publicly whether the administration of These rumours have gained traction since
President Joe Biden is willing to lift the sanctions early March, when a delegation of US officials
imposed on Venezuela’s national oil company visited the Venezuelan capital, ostensibly for
(NOC) PdVSA since early 2019, when Maduro talks on the release of a US hostage.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 17 28•April•2022