Caracas has warned that it may strip Western energy companies of highly lucrative extraction contracts and replace them with oil and gas majors from the BRICS bloc. Which American and European firms currently have a major stake in Venezuela's oil sector, and who may be in line to replace them? Sputnik explores.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told reporters on Friday that the country’s biggest energy investments are coming from BRICS members, and warned that if the US and its allies “make the mistake of their lives” by continuing their attempts to destabilize Venezuela, their oil and gas contracts could go to Venezuela’s BRICS allies.
Possessing an estimated 300 billion barrels of oil and 195 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, Venezuela accounts for a whopping 17% of global reserves of crude oil, and about 3% of known gas reserves. BRICS+ collectively accounts for some 43% of global oil reserves, and has about 50% of the world’s gas reserves, meaning if Venezuela were to ramp up cooperation with and ultimately join the bloc (as Caracas has expressed interest in doing), these indicators could jump to 60% and 53%, respectively.
State-owned oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) is Venezuela’s largest energy producer, with total national output by PDVSA and foreign partners reaching 993,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July, and shipped to Asia, the US, Europe and Cuba.
What Сontracts Сould West Stand to Lose?
US and European energy giants were largely frozen out of operations in Venezuela in 2019 by US sanctions threats. A 2022 deal enabled their return in an oil-for-debt arrangement designed to minimize cash flowing into PDVSA’s coffers. US oil giant Chevron now pumps up to 200,000 bpd of Venezuelan crude from four joint venture sites, and plans to increase output by another 65,000 bpd by year’s end.
Spanish oil major Repsol extracts some 20,000 bpd of oil and 40 million cubic feet of gas daily, and is looking to expand its stake in undeveloped oil fields with a production potential of over 300,000 bpd. Repsol’s output is concentrated at four main sites, including the offshore Perla Field off Venezuela’s northwest coast.
Italian energy company Eni has also been authorized to resume pumping oil in Venezuela, with a joint venture with PDVSA in the Petrosucre field producing about 2,200 bpd (but able to produce 24,000 bpd or more historically). Eni is also in talks with PDVSA about unfreezing the shallow-water Corocoro crude project, and joining the Perla gas project.
Who Could Replace Western Energy Companies?
Historically, Venezuela has proved capable of producing upwards of 3.5 million bpd of oil. When production dipped to just 393,000 bpd in mid-2020 thanks to crippling US sanctions, Caracas turned to its partners, including Iran and Russia, to ride out the crisis.
Iran sent a series of humanitarian flotillas packed with spare parts for refineries and emergency gasoline supplies.
Russia, for its part, stepped in to assist in the export of Venezuelan oil supplies abroad while avoiding US sanctions. Russian operations in Venezuela have been managed by Roszarubezhneft since 2020, when oil giant Rosneft quit the Venezuelan market due to US sanctions threats. Five Roszarubezhneft-PDVSA joint ventures currently produce up to 125,000 bpd.
Global uncertainty, the crisis in the Middle East, the West’s politicized block on Russian oil purchases and heightened tensions in East Asia mean global demand for energy will continue to remain strong for the foreseeable future.
If Western countries proceed with the US-led effort to try to undermine Venezuela and plot coups to replace Maduro, Caracas has plenty of foreign friends with ample experience operating in the Latin American country, from Russia’s Roszarubezhneft to the China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec, Belorusneft AZS, and Indian National Oil Company subsidiary ONGC Videsh Limited.
Trading has been one way after recession fears and a surge in the yen sparked panic (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU)
Wall Street stocks deepened their losses Monday and Tokyo had its worst day in 13 years as panic spread across trading floors over fears of recession in the United States.
New York's tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index tumbled more than six percent of the start of trading, but pared its losses to stand down 2.8 percent in late morning trading.
The S&P 500 and the Dow were also down more than two percent.
Major European indices trimmed their losses to finish the day down around 1.5-2.0 percent.
Tokyo's Nikkei tanked more than 12 percent in its worst day since the Fukushima crisis in 2011. It also suffered its biggest ever points loss, shedding 4,451.28.
The market meltdown was triggered by a weak US jobs report on Friday which showed the unemployment rate reached its highest since October 2021.
The report came two days after the US Federal Reserved decided, as expected, to keep interest rates at a 23-year high while signalling that it could cut them in September.
"Investors are gripped by fears that the Federal Reserve has waited too long to pivot on its policy, especially in light of Friday's disappointing US jobs data and a slew of other weak economic indicators pointing toward a looming recession," said market analyst Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and FOREX.com.
Friday's much-anticipated report showed the US economy added just 114,000 jobs last month, well down from June and far fewer than expected, with unemployment at 4.3 percent.
The news came a day after lacklustre factory data.
Investors fear the Fed's high rates, which aimed to slash inflation, could be plunging the economy towards a hard landing and recession instead of the soft landing sought by the central bank.
Some analysts pointed to the "Sahm Rule", which says an economy is in the early stages of recession if the three-month moving average of unemployment is 0.5 percentage points above its low over the previous 12 months. That was triggered by Friday's data.
But Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on CNBC that US jobs numbers are "not looking yet like recession" but said if conditions deteriorate "we're going to fix it."
Speculation that the Fed could cut more aggressively than expected from September, or even be forced into an emergency reduction this month, sent the dollar sliding against the yen.
The Japanese currency was boosted also by a Bank of Japan interest-rate hike last week, analysts said.
The dollar went under 142 yen for the first time since January.
Russian forces have destroyed two more Western-supplied Leopard tanks in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry said on Monday, providing footage of the attacks.
In its report, the ministry stated that the two Leopards had been spotted by reconnaissance in separate districts of Kharkov Region. The tanks were reportedly camouflaged and were firing on Russian positions.
After confirming the target, the crew of a Russian Msta-S self-propelled howitzer used a Krasnopol high-precision projectile to direct pinpoint fire on the enemy tank. The operator of a Lancet loitering munition did likewise.
The destruction of the two Leopards was confirmed via aerial footage shared by the ministry. It is unclear which variants of the German-made Leopard were destroyed in the attack.
Kiev has received dozens of Leopard tanks from several Western countries. The Ukrainian military has been supplied with both Leopard 2A4 and older Leopard 1A5 tanks, although the latter have only been seen on the frontline on a handful of occasions.
Leopard 2 tanks have seen extensive action over the course of the conflict, particularly last year, when they spearheaded Kiev’s ultimately unsuccessful counteroffensive, which resulted in heavy casualties and little territorial gain for the Ukrainian side.
In January, Foreign Affairs magazine estimated that of the “fewer than 100 Leopard 2s in Ukrainian service,” at least 26 had already been knocked out, while many others were unusable due to “repair and maintenance issues.”
Since then, Russia has continued to regularly report the destruction of Leopard tanks. It is unclear how many of the vehicles remain in Ukraine’s inventory.
Ukraine Loses Up to 620 Soldiers in Clashes With Russia's South Forces
Russian Ministry of Defense reported on the progress of special military operation.
Ukraine has lost up to 620 personnel in the area of operations of Russia's Yug (South) group of forces in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
"The Ukrainian armed forces lost up to 620 servicepeople, three combat armored vehicles, 11 cars [among other losses in battles with the southern group]," the ministry said in a statement.
Russian troops of the Zapad (West) group have improved their positions and Ukraine has lost up to 495 soldiers, the ministry said, adding that in battles with Russia’s Tsentr (Central) group, Kiev has lost up to 325 servicepeople.
In battles with Russia's Sever (North) group of forces, Kiev has lost up to 125, while as a result of operations by Russia's Vostok (East) group of forces, Kiev lost up to 115 soldiers in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.
RT has obtained an exclusive video of the arrest of ex-US Marine Paul Whelan in a sting operation several years ago, in which he is seen illegally acquiring what appears to be a flash drive containing classified data.
The clip, which was released on Monday and dates back to December 2018, was filmed at Moscow’s Metropol Hotel, where Whelan met with an undercover agent from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The video shows the two meeting in a bathroom, with the man handing a USB stick to Whelan.
He is then placed under guard by law enforcement officers and later escorted into custody. At the time, the FSB accused Whelan of trying to obtain dossiers on the agency’s agents. He later denied any wrongdoing, insisting that he thought the USB drive contained church pictures and that he was being persecuted because his acquaintance in the FSB had been reluctant to return a loan of around $1,100.
While US officials declared Whelan “wrongfully detained,” the ex-Marine was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges. Last week, he was released as part of the biggest prisoner swap deal between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. A total of 26 prisoners were released, with Russia retrieving ten people in exchange for 16 people sent to the West – 12 to Germany and four to the US.
Apart from Whelan and several Russian opposition figures, another prominent prisoner who was freed was Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. He was also sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges.
Russia secured the release of Vadim Krasikov, an intelligence operative who was sentenced by a German court for allegedly killing Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Chechen separatist with Georgian citizenship, in a Berlin park in 2019. Some of the evidence against Krasikov was provided by German magazine Der Spiegel, US government-funded website Bellingcat, and Russian opposition outlet The Insider.
A man, who got injured during a clash between police, pro-government supporters and protesters, is taken in a safe place by fellow demonstrators, after anti-quota protesters were demanding the stepping down of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Bangla Motor area, in Dhaka(REUTERS)
At least 98 people, including 14 policemen, were killed on Sunday, and hundreds of others have been injured as renewed anti-government violent protests swept across Bangladesh during the last three days.
On Sunday, thousands of protesters gathered in several parts of the country to demonstrate against Sheikh Hasina’s government, calling for the prime minister to resign and some chanting “down with the autocrat”.
During the protests, clashes erupted between the police and students, with security forces deploying tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the violent crowd.
The students protested in a similar manner last month during which several people were killed and injured. The demonstrations had taken an even ugly turn as the students set fire to the country's state broadcaster, a day after Hasina appeared on the network seeking to calm the escalating clashes.
The demonstrators are demanding Hasina’s resignation after earlier protests in July that began with students calling for an end to a quota system for government jobs and escalated into violence that killed 200 people.
Hasina said those who were engaging in the “sabotage” and the destruction in the name of protests were no longer students, but criminals, and said the people should deal with them with iron hands.
Authorities have blocked internet access and imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew. At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks.
‘Volatile and dangerous’
Deaths were reported from at least 11 districts including Bogura, Magura, Rangpur and Sirajganj districts, where the protesters backed by the main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) clashed with police and the activists of the ruling Awami League party and its associated bodies.
Prapti Taposhi, a student activist who witnessed clashes with police, told Al Jazeera the police were engaged in running battles with the demonstrators.
“I am on the street right now, and I can see so many people here. This is not just a student protest or a ‘quota protest’,” she said.
The government has now imposed an indefinite curfew that began at 6pm local time (1200 GMT), although protesters have continued to gather at the Shaheed Minar monument in central Dhaka.
Men run past a burning vehicle inside Dhaka’s Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital, set on fire by protesters [Rajib Dhar/AP]
Protesters called for “noncooperation”, urging people not to pay taxes and utility bills and not show up for work on Sunday, a working day in Bangladesh. Offices, banks and factories opened, but commuters in Dhaka and other cities faced challenges getting to work.
A ‘March to Dhaka’ protest has also been moved from Tuesday to Monday, a coordinator for the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ASD) told Al Jazeera.
“This means we are urging students and the public nationwide to start their journey to Dhaka tomorrow to lay siege to the city,” the coordinator, Asif Mahmud, said.
The government, meanwhile, announced a holiday from Monday to Wednesday. Courts will remain closed for an indefinite period. Authorities also closed schools and universities across the country.
Mobile internet service was off on Sunday, while Facebook and messaging apps including WhatsApp were inaccessible even on broadband internet. Junior Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat said mobile internet and messaging services were off to help prevent violence.
Arafat added to Al Jazeera that the government was acting “in a defensive position, not an offensive one”
"These miscreants attacked our activists and leaders and unleashed violence,” Arafat said, adding that the government has “always opted for a peaceful solution” and “never wanted violence”.
The deadly protests began last month as students demanded an end to a quota system that reserved 30 percent of government jobs for the families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence against Pakistan in 1971.
As violence intensified, the country’s Supreme Court scaled back the quota system to 5 percent of jobs, with 3 percent for relatives of veterans.
But protests have continued demanding accountability for violence the demonstrators blame on the government’s use of excessive force.
The unrest, which spurred the government to shut down internet services, is its biggest test since January when deadly protests erupted after Hasina’s Awami League won a fourth straight term in elections boycotted by the BNP.
The protests have now grown into a wider antigovernment movement across the South Asian nation of some 170 million people. At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks.
Critics of Hasina, along with several rights groups, have accused her government of using excessive force to stamp out the movement, a charge it denies.
“We want the government to resign,” Jahirul Islam, a restaurant worker in Dhaka, told Al Jazeera.
Dhaka-based political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman said that the government would be unlikely to resign “without bloodshed”.
“For the past two days, peaceful gatherings and demonstrations have taken place across the country demanding the government’s resignation,” Rahman said, explaining that the protests were peaceful because of the absence of Awami League activists on the streets.
However, once ruling party’s activists went to confront the protesters “they use gun[s] and violence to quell a popular uprising in front of the whole world”, Rahman said.
Latest updates on Bangladesh protests:
Thousands of protesters demanding Sheikh Hasina's resignation clashed with government supporters on Sunday, with scores killed in one of the deadliest days since demonstrations began. According to local media, the death toll in the violent protests may have surpassed 90. The Bangladeshi police and doctors reported deaths in districts in the north, west, south and centre of the country.
According to the police, 14 policemen have been killed across the country during the protests. Of them, 13 were killed in Sirajganj's Enayetpur police station, and one was killed in Comilla's Elliotganj, reported PTI. Meanwhile, more than 300 policemen have been injured.
The demonstrators also stormed a station in the northeastern town of Enayetpur. There were some sounds of sustained crackles of gunfire on Sunday as well, with protesters defying a nationwide curfew, reported AFP.
Some videos on social media also showed the demonstrators, surrounded by a tightly packed and cheering crowd, waving a Bangladeshi flag on top of an armoured car as soldiers watched.
According to local officials, Sunday's protests were joined by unidentified people and activists of rightwing Islami Shashontantra Andolon, which erected barricades on several major highways and within the capital city. They also attacked police stations and boxes, ruling party offices and residences of their leaders and burnt several vehicles, reported PTI.
In view of the escalating situation, the Bangladesh government ordered the shutdown of mobile internet services in several parts of the country. The government also announced a three-day general holiday on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to ensure public safety.
PM Hasina said that those engaging in "sabotage" across the country in the name of protest are “not students but terrorists” and asked people to suppress them with a firm hand.
On Sunday, Hasina also called for a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs - the highest policy-making authority of national security, reported PTI. The meeting was reportedly attended by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, police, RAB, BGB, and other top security officers.
Meanwhile, amid the violence, India advised its nationals to refrain from travelling to Bangladesh until further notice. “In view of ongoing developments, Indian nationals are strongly advised against travelling to Bangladesh till further notice…All Indian nationals presently in Bangladesh are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with the High Commission of India in Dhaka through their emergency phone numbers 8801958383679, 8801958383680, 8801937400591,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
The United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk condemned the violence and said that the "shocking violence" in Bangladesh must end. “With a mass march on Dhaka planned for tomorrow, and the youth wing of the ruling party called up against the protesters, I am deeply worried that there will be further loss of life and wider destruction. I appeal urgently to the political leadership and to the security forces to abide by their obligations to protect the right to life, and the freedom of peaceful assembly and expression,” Turk said.
Right-wing protesters in the English town of Rotherham have set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers, as demonstrations against immigration and Islam continue across the country. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed that the rioters will “face the full force of the law.”
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on Sunday afternoon, pelting police officers with wood and bottles and chanting “get them out,” referring to the 130 asylum seekers housed in the hotel since 2022.
South Yorkshire police said at least ten officers were injured in clashes with the rioters, who broke windows and set dumpsters ablaze outside the building, before setting a fire inside the hotel’s ground floor.
Multiple arrests were made, and the fire was extinguished shortly afterwards.
Dozens of British towns and cities have been rocked by right-wing protests and riots since Monday, when a British teenager of Rwandan descent stabbed three children to death and injured ten others in the town of Southport, near Liverpool. Although initially sparked by a false rumor that the knifeman responsible for the stabbings was Muslim, the demonstrations have since grown into a wider backlash against Islam, mass immigration, and the perception that political leaders are more concerned with suppressing right-wing dissent than tackling immigrant crime.
More than 150 people were arrested after riots in Liverpool, Manchester, Stoke, Leeds and other cities on Saturday. Similar riots took place in locations including Middlesbrough, Blackburn, and Tamworth on Sunday. Mobs of Muslim protesters, some armed with knives and machetes, have been seen in some cities, including Bolton and Stoke.
In a speech on Sunday, Starmer warned that more arrests would follow. “Those who have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law,” he declared, warning that those responsible “will regret taking part in this disorder.” In Sunday’s address and in a similar speech earlier this week, Starmer did not discuss any of the root causes of the unrest. Instead he pinned all blame for the violence on “far right hatred” and online “misinformation.”
Sir Keir Starmer has told far right thugs that they “will regret” their actions, as mobs set fire to hotels housing asylum seekers in Rotherham and Tamworth.
Addressing the nation following days of chaos across England, the prime minister said: “The police will be making arrests. Individuals will be held on remand, charges will follow and convictions will follow.
“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or those whipping up this action online and then running away themselves.
“This is not a protest, it is organised, violent thuggery and it has no place on our streets or online.”
It comes as masked rioters assembled outside Holiday Inn hotels in both Rotherham and Tamworth and clashed with police. Thugs in both places smashed windows as they attempted to gain entry to the hotels before setting fires.
At least 147 people have been arrested so far after riots rocked major cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Hull and Stoke, leaving destruction in their wake.
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson, has been accused of stoking the riots from his Cyprus holiday resort through “inflammatory online posts”. He is believed to have left the country earlier last week after a judge issued an arrest warrant.
Rioting broke out across the UK this week fuelled by online lies following the murders of three girls in Southport on Monday.
Posts wrongly claimed suspect Axel Rudakubana, 17, was a Muslim asylum seeker. He was actually born in Cardiff and raised Christian.
Terrifying days of violence followed the attack in Southport, before spreading to Hartlepool and Manchester on Wednesday, Sunderland and Blackpool on Friday then 11 more cities by Saturday.
Footage from Rotherham on Sunday showed masked yobs kicking out windows to storm the Holiday Inn Express, which houses migrants.
A towering blaze broke out as the group of 700 outside the hotel chanted: “Get them out.”
One injured cop was seen being carried to safety by colleagues.
Police take shelter as they are attacked by a far right mob in RotherhamCredit: LNP
Cops later confirmed at least 10 were injured, including an officer who was knocked unconscious, another who suffered a suspected broken elbow and another suffering from suspected broken bones.
Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield said: “Today in Rotherham we have seen our officers attacked and at least ten injured, significant damage caused and a fire set outside a hotel full of terrified residents and staff.
"The behaviour we witnessed has been nothing short of disgusting."
Later in the night hundreds descended on the Holiday Inn in Tamworth, where three petrol bombs were used to start "a series of fires," according to Staffordshire Police.
Footage shared widely online showed a towering blaze ignite inside a smashed window of the hotel.
Officers were assaulted, with one left with a suspected broken arm.
Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Ellison said: “The senseless violence and acts of despicable thuggery in Tamworth tonight are completely inexcusable. The local community do not deserve to be subject to this behaviour, and neither do the brave officers putting themselves in harm’s way to keep everyone safe."
Meanwhile another migrant hotel, this time in Aldershot, was also targeted.
A group of men outside Potters International Hotel brandished a banner insisting: “We’re not far right, we’re just right.”
By 6.45pm a crowd of some 200 "got involved in criminal activity, throwing objects and subjecting people to racist abuse," according to Hampshire Police.
Police officers face off with protesters in Weymouth last nightCredit: AFP
The force confirmed five men were arrested aged 32, 25, 18, 28 and 60.
At Middlesbrough’s Cenotaph, hundreds of protesters squared up to police before throwing slate, cans and pots at the officers.
A group of masked yobs walked through a residential area using metal bars and wooden posts to smash car windscreens and the windows of terraced houses.
Vehicles were torched, along with wheelie bins.
One victim, a white man in his 40s who did not want to be named, said: “I’m born and bred in Middlesbrough and these morons target my house just for the hell of it. I could hear them yelling about immigrants, but they were smashing cars and house windows indiscriminately.
"They're the scum of the earth."
Cleveland Police confirmed 43 people were arrested by 1.28am on Monday, adding: "A full investigation is now underway."
ACC David Felton, said: “The level of violence we have seen today is staggering. We know the shocking scenes across Middlesbrough today will have caused alarm amongst communities.
“I want to reassure the people of Teesside that we will continue to identify those involved in these acts of violence and arrest them and put them before the courts.”
Three men, aged 42, 62 and 27, were arrested trying to break through police lines.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Callaghan said: “There were rumours circulating that asylum seekers currently housed on the Bibby Stockholm would be moved to Portland, Weymouth or the wider Dorset Council area but the Home Office have confirmed this is not the case. In addition, there are no asylum seekers housed in hotels in the Weymouth area."
There was a large turnout in Hull, scene of earlier violence.
Greater Manchester Police said a Section 34 dispersal notice had been authorised until 10pm yesterday, giving officers extra powers to deal with anyone causing anti-social behaviour.
Chief Inspector Natasha Evans said the force was acting to “prevent serious disruption and ensure everyone can go about their lives without fear or risk of harm”.
Merseyside Police introduced two Section 60 orders in Liverpool and Southport between 2pm yesterday and 2am today, giving officers greater stop-and-search powers.
Last night faith leaders in Merseyside issued a joint statement calling for calm and urging people to hold the families of Southport stabbing victims Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at “the forefront of all our thoughts”.
They said: “Division can destroy the very relationships and environment that we depend upon every day of our lives and there is no place for hate in our communities.
“It can — and has — left communities in fear and has put people in danger. At this difficult time, let us remember that there is far more that unites than divides us.
“The people of all faiths and none who came out to sweep the streets, to rebuild walls and have so generously donated money in memory of those three girls — that is the spirit that will help us through this incredibly challenging time.”
