The proposed arrangement, which targets 17 oilfields and a production goal of 1.5 million barrels per day, remains shrouded in secrecy. Machado argues that the absence of public contract details, financing structures, and investor guarantees leaves major questions unanswered for a project involving 65 billion barrels of crude. While she supports the infusion of U.S. capital and technical expertise, she insists that any development model must rely on transparent, competitive bidding and rules that survive political transitions.

Investors face significant hurdles beyond administrative disputes. Venezuela’s infrastructure remains degraded by years of underinvestment, and the nation carries a heavy burden of defaulted bonds and multibillion-dollar legal claims from firms like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips. With ConocoPhillips alone owed up to $12 billion, any new entrant must navigate a complex hierarchy of creditors. For international producers, the viability of a 25-year project hinges on whether current agreements will hold under future governments, a stability that Machado argues is currently missing from the state-led negotiation process.