Venezuela's Oil Recovery Faces Major Challenges: Former Petronas Trading Chief

Former Petronas trading chief Baron Lamarre flags major challenges to Venezuela's oil recovery, citing environmental damage, political uncertainty, and institutional collapse. He notes that the country's energy sector will struggle to attract large-scale foreign capital without sweeping reforms. The environmental clean-up alone represents a multibillion-dollar bottleneck, and political durability is the industry's core concern, not sanctions relief. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods has also expressed concerns about investing in Venezuela due to legal and political uncertainty.