The China National Petroleum Corporation is preparing to return to Venezuela after the Maduro government finalizes legislation seeking to attract more foreign capital to the industry. According to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, CNPC is sending engineers and other staff to Venezuela and talking to local companies for maintenance operations at an oil-blending plant that the Chinese company operates together with PDVSA. The Bloomberg sources also said CNPC was in talks with Venezuelan companies to ramp up oil production at five joint ventures that the company has with PDVSA. Indeed, CNPC had never entirely left Venezuela, but investments in its local operations declined significantly over the past few years amid constantly tightening U.S. sanctions. Despite the sanction noose, Venezuela has been ramping up its oil exports, generating vital revenue. According to a recent Reuters report , the country, which is home to the world’s […]