Venezuela’s legislature advanced a bill on Thursday to loosen state control over the country’s vast oil sector in the first major overhaul since the late socialist leader Hugo Chávez nationalized parts of the industry in 2007.

The legislation would formally break decades of state command over some of the world’s largest oil reserves, create new opportunities for private companies to invest and establish international arbitration for investment disputes.

Following the U.S. capture of former President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, the Trump administration has ramped up pressure on acting President Delcy Rodríguez and other allies of the ousted leader to invite greater investment from U.S. energy companies in Venezuela’s flagging oil industry.

A draft of the proposed legislation, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press, represents a stark retreat from the resource nationalism at the heart of Venezuela’s socialist-inspired revolution.

Reflecting U.S. demands, the proposed legislation would allow private companies to independently operate oil fields, market their own crude output and collect the cash revenues through contracts with Petróleos de Venezuela, the state-run oil company and long the cornerstone of Venezuela’s economy.

“The operating company shall assume the comprehensive management of the execution of the activities, at its sole cost, expense and risk,” the draft says, adding that portions of production volumes “may be directly commercialized by the operating company, once governmental obligations have been fulfilled.”

Crucially, the bill offers companies the option of settling legal disputes through arbitration in international courts rather than just local courts. It also allows the government to cut royalties from the current 30% to as low as 15% and slash extraction taxes to persuade companies to commit to difficult projects in underdeveloped fields.

he president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, told lawmakers at the start of Thursday’s debate that the bill aims to “allow an accelerated increase in production” of oil in Venezuela.

“Oil under the ground is useless,” he said, referring to the need to boost oil production and open up exploration opportunities.

Pushed by Delcy Rodríguez, the bill is expected to advance swiftly through the ruling party-dominated legislature.

After around two hours of discussion, lawmakers gave initial approval to the bill on Thursday and sent it to a second round of debate, yet to be scheduled

Source: Clickorlando