The pressure on oil and gas companies across the US is intensifying as government expectations increase, driving the industry to consider high-states investments in Venezuela’s oil industry amid billions in unsettled debts and infrastructure challenges.
McCarter & English partner Zack Hadzismajlovic spoke with Compliance Week about the challenges companies would face operating in such a high-risk environment and said onboarding a workforce with the necessary technical expertise is another infrastructure-related challenge. “Economic depression has forced many of the skilled and technical experts to greener pastures,” he said. “Would the promise of jobs close to home be enough to return them to Venezuela? Itʼs unlikely this would occur without U.S. security guarantees and significant changes to the rule of law.”