- GAS
Baker Hughes signed an alliance with PDVSA, Lindsayca and Fulcrum LNG to restore and expand gas infrastructure.
Corto plazo: gas para PDVSA y la generación eléctrica · después: acceso abierto y GNL · base de Baker Hughes: ~240 turbomáquinas en 23 sitios
affects PDVSA, oilfield service providers and power generation
- LEGISLACIÓN
The committee reforming the Anti-Hate Law put Article 22, which allows revoking broadcast licenses and blocking websites, under review.
Artículos 20, 21 y 22 en revisión · art. 20: 10 a 20 años de prisión · 927 imputados desde 2017, según Foro Penal
affects radio and TV broadcasters, telecom operators and digital platforms
- MULTILATERALES
The IMF is reported to be using some Venezuelan official data in its October 13 outlook; the Fund has not confirmed it.
Informe: 13 de octubre · último Artículo IV: 2004 · financiamiento solicitado al FMI: ninguno
affects bondholders and anyone following the debt restructuring
The gas alliance arrives with its own financing formula at a time when official credit to the Venezuelan state is conditional. CAF will not lend until arrears with multilateral lenders are resolved, Venezuela has not asked the IMF for financing, and the Fund has not reviewed its economy under an Article IV since 2004. Fulcrum, the partner that develops the infrastructure, proposes open-access projects paid for with private capital and without burdening the host government. Under that scheme, each project depends on Washington's license, not on the state's access to credit. The IMF report touches the other path, the state's: sharing data is a step toward an Article IV. The near-term observables are Venezuela's table on October 13 and the alliance's first project with a definitive agreement.
Discount to the regional benchmark at which Saudi Aramco will sell its Arab Light crude to Asian buyers in November. It is the widest in six years.
Saudi Aramco widened the November discount on its benchmark crude for Asia from $2 to $5 a barrel, when buyers expected an increase. It is the lowest level in six years and comes with Middle East shipments near 98% of their pre-Iran-war level, a sign that Saudi Arabia is seeking market share in Asia. For Venezuela, Asia is the second market. India received 253,000 barrels a day in September, almost a quarter of exports. October shipments to India will show whether Venezuelan crude keeps that place against a cheaper supplier.
Baker Hughes announced on Monday the 5th an alliance with PDVSA, Lindsayca and Fulcrum LNG on gas infrastructure, plus an MOU with New Stratus Energy. Each project will require a definitive agreement and OFAC authorization.
In Caracas, Baker Hughes signed a strategic alliance with PDVSA, contractor Lindsayca, present in the country since 1986, and US developer Fulcrum LNG to restore and expand gas infrastructure, it announced on Monday, October 5. Separately, it signed an MOU with New Stratus Energy. In the near term, the plan addresses PDVSA's gas needs and supply for power generation; over the medium and long term, open-access infrastructure and LNG. The official note on Friday the 2nd's meeting mentioned no signing.
Baker Hughes ↗Partes: PDVSA, Baker Hughes, Lindsayca, Fulcrum LNG · memorando: New Stratus · base de Baker Hughes: ~240 turbomáquinas en 23 sitios · cada proyecto: acuerdo definitivo + licencia OFACFulcrum develops, finances and operates open-access gas infrastructure with private capital, a model that, by its own description, lifts that burden from governments and producers. Baker Hughes brings equipment on an installed base of about 240 turbomachinery units at 23 sites in the country. The alliance is a cooperation framework: the release gives no amounts, fields or timelines, and each project is subject to definitive agreements and OFAC authorizations.
Baker Hughes: with that installed base, it positions itself as the gas and LNG equipment supplier for any project that comes out of the alliance.
Those waiting for new gas to generate power in the near term: the alliance brings no projects or dates, and the gas processors' association expects no new volumes for the domestic market before 2027.
INDICADORThe alliance's first definitive agreement, with a project, an amount and an OFAC authorization. · Sin calendario de las partes; primer corte de seguimiento el 31 de octubre.
The National Assembly committee reforming the Anti-Hate Law started work on Monday the 5th. Its chair included Articles 20, 21 and 22 and raised renaming the law; there is no draft text yet.
Pedro Infante, first vice president of the National Assembly, installed on Monday, October 5, the special committee drafting the reform and said the first changes will cover decriminalization, definitions and shared responsibility. He named Articles 20, 21 and 22, among others, raised renaming the law and announced meetings with people affected by its "inadequate application." Article-by-article review begins on Tuesday the 6th. The draft will go to the Supreme Court's Constitutional Chamber before the first floor debate.
Asamblea Nacional — vía AVN ↗En revisión: arts. 20, 21 y 22 · art. 20: 10 a 20 años de prisión · art. 22: revocatoria de concesión, multa de 50.000-100.000 UT y bloqueo a las 6 horas · 927 imputados desde 2017 (Foro Penal)Article 20 punishes anyone who promotes hatred with 10 to 20 years in prison. Article 22 is administrative: it revokes the license of radio and TV broadcasters and, for social networks and electronic media, sets fines of 50,000 to 100,000 tax units and blocking if a message is not removed within six hours. The acting president's letter named criminal offenses; with Article 22, the reform reaches sanctions against media. Whether revocation or blocking will be removed is not on record.
People prosecuted under the law, 638 under precautionary measures as of September 30 according to Foro Penal: decriminalization is the first thing the committee agreed to reform.
Radio and TV broadcasters and websites operating in the country: until a text is approved, Article 22 applies as is, and the committee set no deadline.
INDICADORThe text the committee proposes for Article 22: whether it keeps license revocation and website blocking. · Sin plazo; la revisión del articulado empieza el 6 de octubre y el proyecto pasa por la Sala Constitucional antes de la primera discusión.
The IMF is reported to be basing its assessment of Venezuela, at least in part, on official data in its October 13 outlook. The Fund has not confirmed it.
The International Monetary Fund would base its assessment of the Venezuelan economy, at least in part, on data provided by the country rather than only on staff estimates, according to a Monday the 5th report, without official confirmation from the IMF, whose spokesperson declined to comment. Earlier years would combine official figures and Fund estimates, and 2026 onward would be the Fund's own projections. The World Economic Outlook comes out on October 13, during the Annual Meetings in Bangkok.
Bloomberg ↗Informe: 13 de octubre · último Artículo IV: 2004 · estimaciones del personal en la mayoría de indicadores desde 2018 · programa o financiamiento solicitado: ninguno (FMI, 1 de octubre)Since 2018, most of Venezuela's figures in that report have been Fund staff estimates, which earlier this year the IMF said should be "interpreted with caution" given the lack of engagement with the authorities. Using the country's data is a step toward an Article IV review, which the IMF has not carried out in Venezuela since 2004. On October 1, the Fund said Venezuela has not requested a program or financing.
The central bank, which resumed monthly price releases in March: its series would feed, at least in part, the international benchmark on the Venezuelan economy.
Anyone comparing IMF figures over time: earlier years would mix official data and staff estimates, and the series would no longer be consistent with previous editions.
INDICADORVenezuela's table and methodological note in the World Economic Outlook. · 13 de octubre de 2026, en las Reuniones Anuales del FMI y el Banco Mundial (Bangkok, 12 al 18 de octubre).