Venezuela oil deal with NABEP faces scrutiny over $6 billion fiscal loss

Venezuela's oil agreement with North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) is facing intense scrutiny regarding its fiscal impact and the method of its selection. Economist José Guerra estimates the deal involves a fiscal sacrifice exceeding $6 billion. This figure includes an estimated $4.5 billion lost due to the direct adjudication of 17 oil fields without a competitive bidding process, and an additional $1.7 billion resulting from the sale of 20% of the committed crude to the United States at cost.

Héctor Obregón, president of PDVSA, defended the decision to award the fields to NABEP without a public tender. He argued that Venezuelan legislation allows for alternative mechanisms and that the country's urgent economic situation required an accelerated selection process, noting that competitive bidding is too time-consuming. Obregón cited NABEP's previous performance, such as increasing production at the Petrozamora field, as justification for the expedited procedure.

However, oil governance specialist Francisco Monaldi noted that awarding such a massive package of fields to a single company is unusual compared to industry standards in countries like Brazil, Mexico, or Colombia, where competitive processes are used to secure better royalties and fiscal conditions.