Global Upstream Scouting | Americas | Venezuela’s OFAC-tory Allure, Colombia Tailwinds, Vista RIGI and Argentina Offshore, Petronasuriname

Tommy, V- Venezuela.

Um, I got...

I went down the rabbit hole this morning, um, because it seems to me that Washington has turned its control of Venezuela from, uh, like a lock into a turnstile.

Um, so background for listeners.

For years, right, the, uh, OFAC, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, th- they worked to keep companies out of Venezuela via sanctions, uh, that I think were built to choke off former Presidente Maduro, to build...

To, to choke off his oil revenue, right?

Yes.

Yes.

And, and it, it suddenly occurred to me while I was down the rabbit hole that what's changed this year is it's the same licensing power now that's been flipped 180 degrees, and it's being used to decide who gets in.

You know, now we want people in, uh, and who gets which barrels.

And everybody who gets in needs a permission slip, uh, except if you're from or connected with, or have ever even l- looked on a map at, or know how to spell Russia, China, Iran, Cuba.

Not welcome.

Those are barred by rule.

Um, all payments run through US-controlled accounts before Caracas sees a cent.

I mean, so it's like a real...

It's a lot of control.

Um, you know, basically i- if you're gonna operate in Venezuela, you've gotta be acceptable to Washington first.

And so I started looking at all these little...

It was all these little companies that are showing up in, in kind of a, in our scouting.

Uh, a distressed little California operator that lost its refinery outlet, and suddenly it's gonna take operatorship of some Eastern Venezuela fields.

What? Uh, there's a Swedish junior that's reincorporating in Indiana.

Uh, there's a Canadian firm that's building a US-domiciled joint venture.

There's a Miami SPAC financier who's running a couple of Venezuelan vehicles.

Uh, there's all kinds of stuff going on [laughs], some of which, as I just said, uh, is foreign companies spending actual money so that they look American because that's...

For small companies, it, it, you know, it's not just a competitive advantage to have a US connection or a US domicile, like it's the only way you're gonna get in, I think.