Chevron executive who backed Delcy Rodríguez now shut out of Venezuela’s oil business

Former Chevron executive Ali Moshiri has accused Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA of slowing down his plans to invest in the country’s oil sector, despite having $2 billion ready to deploy.

The information was reported by Bloomberg on September 18.

Moshiri, who previously headed Chevron’s operations in Venezuela and has long been a Washington interlocutor on energy issues, said he has secured $2 billion from around 15 investors for Venezuelan oil production and infrastructure projects.

The planned investments come as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing American companies to help revive Venezuela’s energy sector.

However, Moshiri said PDVSA has been slow to respond to his proposals.

“There is no process, nor any sense of urgency,” Moshiri told Bloomberg.

He is expected to travel to Caracas this weekend in an effort to arrange an in-person meeting with executives of the Venezuelan state oil company.

“We are willing to fix the situation. It is vitally important,” Moshiri said.

Moshiri is currently the chief executive of investment fund Amos Global Energy.

His comments come months after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3. According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, Moshiri had previously advised the CIA that transferring power directly to the opposition led by María Corina Machado could result in an unstable transition because she lacked control over Venezuela’s security apparatus and the country’s main centers of power.

According to the report, Moshiri had recommended that Washington support Delcy Rodríguez as the most viable figure to manage the immediate succession.

Moshiri now says that the same Chavista leadership he had argued should remain in place is preventing his investment plans from moving forward in Venezuela.