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 […]
Bridges Between University and Industry: A Strategic Need for Venezuela’s Recovery – Interview with Andrés Tremante
Professor Andrés Tremante is a case in which academic experience and industrial expertise converge in one professional trajectory. Initially trained at Simón Bolívar University (USB), he pursued postgraduate studies in France, earning a PhD in Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers – ENSAM ParisTech in 2000. His connection to […]
New Technologies Reinforce the Energy Industry – Interview with Benjamín Scharifker
We interviewed Dr. Benjamin Scharifker, a scientist and humanist who has distinguished himself in his role as a researcher and for his dedication to training professionals and serving as president of prestigious universities. His career gives us the opportunity to expand our knowledge of the latest advances in artificial intelligence and new technologies in the […]
How Artificial Intelligence and New Technologies Can Drive Venezuelan Oil Forward
The global oil industry is undergoing a quiet transformation. Across offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, European refineries, and the desert fields of the Middle East, digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) are no longer promises but proven tools that increase output, reduce costs, and lower emissions. Venezuela, with its aging infrastructure and urgent need […]
Venezuela and Oil in the Transition: Foundational Decisions for a New Future
History shows that moments of transition demand both boldness and responsibility. Today, Venezuela faces a turning point in which decisions about oil, governance, and institutions will determine the country’s trajectory for decades to come. It is about putting ourselves in the position of those who will have to make difficult decisions, fully aware that the […]
