Page 14 - NorthAmOil Week 02 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

US President-elect Joe
Biden may opt to take a
different approach from
his predecessor, Donald
Trump, to Venezuela.

though it did not recognise the outcome of the In other words, since the sanctions on PdVSA
elections that put Maduro’s allies ahead in the were introduced by the Trump team, Biden and
legislature. his advisors may be eager to take a different tack
On the same day, the Lima Group, a mul- – and they may be willing to change course more
ti-lateral organisation formed by 12 countries rapidly than industry observers have predicted,
in 2017 in the hope of resolving Venezuela’s given that the president-elect has not treated
political and economic crises, took a similar Venezuela as a high priority. At the very least,
step. It too declined to endorse the December they can be expected to abandon Trump’s plan
parliamentary vote but also downgraded its rec- to continuing tightening the sanctions regime,
ognition of Guaido, referring to him merely as so as to discourage US and foreign businesses
the head of “a Delegated Commission headed by and individuals from supporting the Venezue-
its legitimate board of directors, established by lan oil sector in any way. One of the biggest
the National Assembly.” For example, as Argus Media suggested last
These developments left the Trump adminis- week, they will probably back away from pro- wins Guaido and
tration as the last strongly committed defender posals to fade out the waivers under which a few his allies have
of Guaido’s claim to lead Venezuela. They also international oil companies (IOCs) have been
occurred against a backdrop of speculation that able to continue swapping diesel for Venezuelan scored over the
US President-elect Joe Biden might ease up on crude in order to settle outstanding debts. And
Venezuelan sanctions – and on the day before going forward, they will probably roll back other last two years is
Trump’s reputation took a nosedive because of Trump policies in a humanitarian bid to allevi-
the violent riot in which his supporters stormed ate the dire social and economic situation in the gaining control
and occupied the US Capitol building. South American country. over Citgo.
Even so, Guaido is not likely to fade into the
The Trump factor background just yet. One of the biggest wins he
These circumstances are significant, even and his allies have scored over the last two years
though the incumbent US president is due to is gaining control over Citgo, the US-based
leave office soon anyway. They are important refinery operator that is a subsidiary of PdVSA,
because Trump, who was already a figure of despite repeated attempts by Maduro to bring
some controversy, is leaving under a cloud, with the company back under PdVSA’s jurisdiction.
his public standing in tatters. This suggests that As such, the opposition leader is sure to con-
the incoming Biden administration may be even tinue playing a role in US sanctions policy, even
more eager than it was before to distance itself if he does so only by criticising changes made by
from its predecessor’s policies. the Biden administration.™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 02 14•January•2021