Venezuela expects to attract around $1.4 billion in investment this year in projects operating under oil production-sharing contracts (PSCs) promoted by the government, up from about $900 million last year, Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said.

PSC is a type of agreement between a government (or state-owned oil company) and a private oil and gas company in which the government provides the resource, the company provides the investment and expertise, and they split the profits from production.

Rodríguez made the remarks during a meeting with oil executives, lawyers and lawmakers at state-owned oil company PDVSA’s headquarters in Caracas, where discussions focused on a proposed reform of the country’s main hydrocarbons law.

The planned legal changes aim to formally incorporate production-sharing contracts into Venezuela’s oil framework, as the government seeks to boost investment and stabilize output.

Venezuela has long been a major oil producer with some of the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, particularly in the extra-heavy crude of the Orinoco Belt. However, its output has declined sharply from peak levels of over 3 million barrels per day (b/d) in the late 1990s and early 2000s to around 0.9–1.1 million b/d in recent years due to chronic underinvestment, mismanagement, corruption, and infrastructure deterioration.

PDVSA dominates the sector but has struggled financially and operationally, limiting production growth. Efforts to revive output increasingly depend on foreign investment, contractual reforms, and easing of sanctions after years of restrictions that constrained exports and investment.