Venezuela offers BRICS countries access to its vast oil and gas reserves

24/08/2024 CEN_net BRI, BRICS, & Global South~, Energy. Transport & Climate Change~, Geopolitics & Multipolarity~, Main~ 0

International media, including Russia’s RT News, have reported that Venezuela could transfer the development rights to its vast oil and gas fields that are currently signed with American energy companies to entities from BRICS nations, President Nicolas Maduro warned on August 2, 2024 during a press conference in Caracas.

With an estimated 303 billion barrels, Venezuela accounts for approximately 17% of global reserves of crude oil, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which lists the Bolivarian republic as having the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

Maduro has already raised the idea of transferring the rights to develop oil and gas fields to BRICS countries. In February 2024, Venezeula expressed his aspirations to join BRICS, during the upcoming summit in Kazan, Russia in October, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant. This year’s BRICS summit is chaired by Russia, and Venezuela has received a formal invitation from President Putin for Maduro to attend the leader’s summit.

According to Tech Revolution such a move by Venezuela would shake up the global energy scene (see video). As Tech Revolution suggests, this isn’t just a minor shuffle—it’s a potential game-changer that could rewrite the rules of global energy and alliances.

So, what’s really going on? Let’s break it down in a way that’s easy to digest. Venezuela, the country sitting on the world’s largest proven oil reserves (we’re talking about 303 billion barrels here), has decided to play its cards a bit differently. President Nicolas Maduro dropped a bombshell recently, saying that if the United States and its buddies keep up the pressure, Venezuela might just say, “Thanks, but no thanks,” and pass the torch to BRICS.

Why would Venezuela consider such a bold move? Well, it’s not just about the oil—it’s a way of telling the U.S. to back off.

The U.S. has been pretty vocal about its support for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who they claim “won” the recent elections. But Maduro isn’t having it and is pushing back by looking to his friends in other places. So, shifting oil contracts to BRICS? That’s Venezuela making a statement: “We’ve got other options.”

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