Unlocking Venezuela: Governance, Production Potential, and the Global Oil Balance

Webinar Date: Tuesday, February 17th
Time: 12 pm ET | 9 am PT | 5 pm GMT

As global energy markets face shifting supply dynamics, Venezuela stands as one of the world’s most significant—yet sidelined—resource holders. Unlocking its vast reserves requires more than just technical expertise; it demands a fundamental shift in the nation’s regulatory and political landscape to attract the massive capital necessary for redevelopment.

In this roundtable, Doug Garber (Pitch The PM), Paul Sankey (Sankey Research), and Xavier Smith (AlphaSense) examine the hurdles and opportunities presented by a potential Venezuelan energy resurgence.

Topics include:

• The Governance Threshold: Identifying the specific legal reforms and institutional milestones required to provide the "sanctity of contract" needed for long-term foreign direct investment.
• Offshore vs. Onshore: A deep dive into whether Venezuela’s offshore gas and deepwater potential can mirror the success of the Guyana-Suriname Basin, or if the lower-risk, infrastructure-heavy onshore Orinoco Belt remains the primary prize.
• The OPEC+ Dilemma: How a sustained recovery in Venezuelan production would force a realignment of OPEC+ quotas and the resulting impact on medium-term Brent price forecasts.
• The Competitive Landscape: Assessing how Venezuela’s heavy crude fits into a global refining system increasingly tuned for lighter, sweeter barrels from the Permian and Guyana.