If paired with sanctions relief, the changes could mark a true reopening of Venezuela's oil sector, shifting policy from ideological rigidity toward pragmatic, investment-led recovery.

By Arathy Somasekhar and Nathan Crooks HOUSTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - In a downtown Houston bar, Matthew Goitia, a director at Pelorus Terminals, lays out his early idea to refurbish and build marine terminals that can blend and export crude and ship chemical products in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday signed a law that will open the nation’s oil sector to privatization, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.

Rebuilding Venezuela’s oil sector would be a long-cycle, capital-intensive process, not a rapid production restart.

Director of upstream companies and transactions research at S&P Global Energy Claudia Emilia Pessango believes that despite renewed geopolitical focus on Venezuela, the country’s long-awaited return t