A revised roughly 90-page draft removes a provision that would have let Venezuela cancel oil contracts for “public interest” reasons while offering companies limited compensation.
Drillers had objected that the original terms gave Caracas too much leverage and conflicted with U.S. license rules, turning the clause into a key obstacle in negotiations.
The change is part of Venezuela’s effort to make proposed oil-field deals more acceptable to foreign energy investors as it seeks to draw capital into its energy sector.