<h1>Venezuelan oil sector privatization opens production and sales to private firms, introduces arbitration and fiscal changes to attract investment.</h1> Legislative reform opens the Venezuelan oil sector to privatization by permitting private companies to assume management of production and sale while the state retains ownership of hydrocarbon reservoirs; this change is intended to attract foreign investment. The law permits independent arbitration for disputes, removing exclusive domestic-court mandates, and caps royalties at 30% while allowing the executive to set project-specific fiscal rates, effects designed to enhance investor protections and fiscal flexibility. Provisions encouraging transparency and accountability are urged to address corruption and restore industry viability amid concurrent easing of external sanctions that facilitate market re-entry.