Jan. 30 (UPI) — Venezuela’s National Assembly has unanimously approved a partial reform of the Organic Hydrocarbons Law that eases regulations in the oil sector and seeks to attract private and foreign investment in the country’s main industry.

Lawmakers fast-tracked the bill Thursday after just one week using a procedure known as “parliamentary urgency,” a mechanism that allows Congress to accelerate debate and voting when an issue is deemed time-sensitive.

Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, signed the approved bill and welcomed it.

“Venezuelans are happy to be here, to have signed this law so that those great oil reserves will finally and forever be the happiness of our people,” she said.

From the opposition, lawmaker Antonio Ecarri warned that the reform grants broad powers to the ministry in charge of hydrocarbons.

“The text keeps intact the tumor of administrative discretion,” Ecarri said.

He contended that the law concentrates regulatory, contractual and economic authority in a single office, increasing corruption risks and weakening institutional oversight. The ruling majority rejected his objections.

“It is not a matter of names but of design; discretion causes harm. The law is a step forward but it creates a new oil czar. The minister has 19 powers, a super minister who sets rules and distributes royalties. If approved, it should be temporary,” Ecarri said.

The legislative debate came weeks after the Jan. 3 capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation in Caracas. Since then, President Donald Trump has said Washington intends to support the recovery of Venezuela’s oil industry and ensure export revenues benefit the population.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez described the vote as a turning point for the energy sector.

“It has been a historic day for our people, for the Venezuelan oil industry and for the thousands of workers in this sector. With the reform of the Organic Hydrocarbons Law, oil production in Venezuela will surge,” Rodríguez wrote on X.

The Assembly, controlled by the ruling socialist movement known as Chavismo, altered a framework of strong state control in place for more than two decades. The reform aims to create more favorable conditions for private and foreign investment in oil exploration and production.

The legislation preserves the constitutional requirement that the state retain at least 50% control of joint ventures, but allows primary activities to be carried out through contracts with private companies.

Under the reform, the state keeps a base royalty of 30% on extracted hydrocarbons. However, the rate may be reduced to as low as 20% in contracts with private firms and 15% in joint ventures if a project is shown to be economically unviable under the standard royalty, according to digital outlet Efecto Cocuyo.

The law also incorporates Production Participation Contracts, a model under which private investors assume risks and recover their investment with a share of production without transferring ownership of the resource.

According to official figures, Venezuela attracted more than $900 million in investment in 2025 and projects that figure will reach $1.4 billion in 2026.

The reform requires private firms to assume operating costs and risks, eases royalty rules and authorizes direct crude oil marketing under state supervision.

Before the final vote, lawmaker Orlando Camacho said the proposal had been discussed in several regions and that 120 submissions were received, according to local outlet Diario VEA.

“This law will change the country’s economy; it will be a pillar of transformation for Venezuela’s future,” Camacho said.

Alongside the legislative approval, the U.S. Treasury Department issued General License 46 authorizing broad transactions with the Venezuelan government and state oil company PDVSA related to the marketing and transport of Venezuelan-origin oil, according to news platform EVTV.

The license allows operations with “established U.S. entities” but excludes transactions involving individuals or entities from Russia, Iran, North Korea or Cuba. Its validity depends on periodic reporting by authorized companies.

As a complementary step, the United States also lifted air travel restrictions in place for more than seven years.

American Airlines said it will be the first carrier to resume direct flights between the two countries after Trump’s order to reopen Venezuelan airspace to commercial aviation.