Venezuelan President Appoints PDVSA Chief as New Oil Minister

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday named the head of state oil company PDVSA, Pedro Rafael Tellechea, as the South American country’s new oil minister, a day after his predecessor resigned amid a wide-ranging corruption investigation.
Former Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami resigned Monday following the arrest of officials and judges in connection with corruption cases.
You may also be interested in:

Sources with knowledge of the matter said more than 20 low-ranking PDVSA officials have also been detained in recent days.
Tellechea assumed the presidency of PDVSA in January of this year and with his arrival ordered the suspension of most contracts to export crude oil and refined products as a measure to prevent ships from setting sail before completing payments for cargoes.
The government has provided scant details about alleged corruption at the state-owned oil company, but PDVSA’s arrests are linked to an investigation into the shipments, a source said Monday.
PDVSA has amassed $21.2 billion in commercial accounts receivable over the past three years, according to company documents seen by Reuters, after resorting to dozens of little-known middlemen to market its oil amid U.S. sanctions.
The huge number of outstanding accounts, which corresponds to about 84% of the total value of exports invoiced by the state company, reveals the magnitude of the income lost due to the withdrawal since 2020 of established customers.
“I met with the President of PDVSA, Engineer Pedro Tellechea, I appointed him as the new Minister of Oil, within the framework of the transformation process that the industry is experiencing. Maximum Efficiency Comrade!”, Maduro wrote on his Twitter account.
Tellechea first rose to fame as head of state-owned chemical company Pequiven, where he oversaw a boost in petrochemical exports that provided much-needed cash flow for the Maduro administration.
It was unclear whether Tellechea, an engineer graduated from a military academy, would continue to lead the oil and petrochemical companies.
Appearing alongside heavyweights from his cabinet and ruling PSUV party on Monday, including Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and ruling party second-in-command Diosdado Cabello, Maduro said he is contemplating restructuring PDVSA, but provided no details.
Maduro added Monday that his government is “going to the roots” of corruption and will apply “draconian measures.”
El Aissami said he would support the investigations, but sources close to the ruling party said his departure was evidence of a power struggle between officials close to Maduro.
The ruling party-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday unanimously revoked the parliamentary immunity of a lawmaker who is a close ally of El Aissami.
El Aissami has served as vice president, minister and governor for the past two decades and is under U.S. sanctions for alleged connections to drug trafficking, which he denies.
“Count on my greatest effort and full commitment to continue contributing to the economic and social development of our country, hand in hand with your leadership along with the entire government team. Teamwork, Safe Victory!”, Tellechea wrote on his Twitter account.

Follow us on

Original source in Spanish