Venezuela suspends 19 oil, gas production-sharing contracts signed under Maduro government, reports

Caracas and ​Washington ​would review the contracts and may ⁠recommend revoking some of them, the sources said. The Venezuelan and US ‌governments are reviewing the credentials of the companies that signed them, the sources added. Some of the companies are little-known and the deals were signed while Venezuela was under US sanctions.

The United States captured Maduro in ⁠January and ⁠took control of Venezuela’s oil exports and sales. Since then, the US Treasury ⁠Department ‌has issued licenses that allow ​some companies to trade Venezuela’s oil ‌and to operate in the country’s oil and gas sectors.

Venezuela’s National Assembly passed a ‌reform to ​the country’s ​hydrocarbon law ​in late January to facilitate foreign investment in the dilapidated oil industry. ​Under the reformed law, the government ⁠has six months to review existing contracts. Venezuela’s oil ministry and the White House did not immediately reply ‌to ⁠a request for comment.