Source: https://venezuelanalysis.com/

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced 16 cabinet changes aimed at accelerating economic and social transformations for a new phase of “popular self-government.”

During a televised meeting with grassroots activists and government officials on Tuesday, Maduro designated Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez as new oil minister, emphasizing her “expertise” in the sector. She will work alongside Héctor Obregón, who will assume the presidency of state oil company PDVSA.

In a video shared on social media Wednesday, Rodríguez expressed her gratitude for her new responsibility and reflected on her earlier experience in the Oil Ministry’s International Affairs Office two decades ago when the PetroCaribe initiative was running.

Maduro tasked the new leadership of the oil industry with increasing crude production, which currently stands at 852,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to secondary sources in the latest OPEC monthly report.