The Venezuelan diaspora as an ambassador for Venezuela worldwide- Interview with Tomás Páez
Tomás Páez is a sociologist who graduated from the Central University of Venezuela and obtained his Ph.D. and M.Phil. from University College London. He is a founding member of the Global Network of the Venezuelan Diaspora, as well as CEDES (Center for the Development of Citizenship and Democracy) and the Center for the Study of […]
Social responsibility in our oil industry
By Eddie Ramírez Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that broadens the traditional business system by taking into account its range of stakeholders: shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, surrounding communities, and regulatory bodies. A company’s reputation is not only a consequence of the quality of the product it manufactures or the service it provides, but […]
Modern societies require socially responsible companies – Interview with Víctor Guédez
Víctor Gúedez is a researcher, teacher, consultant, and lecturer on topics related to management ethics, corporate social responsibility, change, and cultural management. He is the author of more than 20 books related to his areas of expertise and has worked as an educator and consultant in various countries throughout Latin America. His main books include: […]
Marketing heavy crude oil under a new government in Venezuela and its relationship with processing in the country – Interview with Tyrone Perdomo
On this occasion, we spoke with engineer Tyrone Perdomo, who has extensive experience in crude oil marketing, delving into the paths that must be taken in Venezuela to maximize revenues from the sale of heavy crude oil and its relationship with its processing in the country. It is important to note that engineer Edgar Rasquin, […]
Technical Criteria for Identifying Refineries Capable of Processing Heavy and Extra-Heavy Crude Oil from Venezuela
Ricardo Prada Silvy, PhD President of Applied Science and Technology, Adjunct Professor and Consultant at the Energy Institute of the Americas, University of Oklahoma. For decades, Venezuela’s heavy and extra-heavy crude oils have been processed in various refineries around the world, especially those located on the American coast of the Gulf of Mexico. However, the […]
Corruption, China, and the challenges of opening Venezuela to investment – Interview with Mercedes De Freitas
Mercedes De Freitas has been directing Transparencia Venezuela for more than two decades. Her experience has made her one of the most authoritative voices on corruption networks, institutional capture, and risks for investment in opaque environments. In this exclusive interview, we address the Venezuelan case with an emphasis on China’s role, the lessons learned from […]
Silk Road (Part II): From Domestic Opacity to “Test Cases” in Oil
In the first installment, we described the “credit-for-oil” pattern with which China consolidated its position in the Venezuelan sector. This second part focuses on the internal architecture of opacity that allowed these agreements to become a breeding ground for large-scale corruption—and on recent cases that illustrate the economic and governance costs: from the seizure of […]
How China used its “Silk Road” strategy to strengthen its position in the Venezuelan oil industry
The alliance between Venezuela and China resulted in tens of billions of dollars in oil-backed loans, equity stakes in oil assets, and infrastructure contracts. Documents from Transparencia Venezuela reveal an opaque debt, limited investment progress, and a growing link to corruption and sanctions evasion schemes. The oil sector, key to Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), […]
Interview with Lino Carrillo
Lino Carrillo is a chemical engineer with more than 40 years of experience in the hydrocarbon industry in Venezuela and Canada, former operations manager at the Cardón Refinery and new business development manager at PDVSA. Since 2004, he has been working in Canada in the oil industry, where he provides consulting services to the industry. […]
Universities and National Recovery: A Two-Way Challenge
Any serious national recovery project must include universities as key stakeholders. In Venezuela’s case, their role goes far beyond education: universities must become catalysts for knowledge, innovation, and public ethics. But it is unreasonable to expect them to contribute to rebuilding the country if they themselves have not first been rebuilt. Venezuela cannot recover without […]
