Thomas O'Donnell, PhD. Visiting Professor at the John F. Kennedy Institute at the Freie Universitat Berlin, is a Senior Editor for Oil & Gas for the Business Intelligence Journal Semana Group in Bogot. He was a US Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Professor at the Centro de Estudios de Desarrollo at the Central University of Venezuela (CENDES/UCV). Luiz Pinto, PhD. Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Latin American Studies at Columbia University. He holds a PhD in economics, and was Director of the Brazilian South American Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He worked advising and coordinating several industrial and infrastructure projects in Venezuela.

Abstract: Few words within the South American political dictionary would be as related to each other as Venezuela and petroleum. Together, they have been at the forefront of some of the most dramatic events that have shaped the region in the last fifteen years - Constitutional re-designs, military coup d'tat, general and oil strikes, popular upheavals, massive social policies, nationalizations, expropriations and confiscations, and "revisionists" geopolitical projects. Indeed, petroleum is the single most important variable shaping Venezuelan politics and economics.

This talk convenes two experts for a discussion of the evolving scenario for petroleum policies in Venezuela. Issues that will be addressed include the future of PDVSA, the upcoming projects at the Orinoco Belt, the international relations of Venezuelan oil, and the relations between petroleum policies and economic imbalances.

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