US Detention of Maduro Tests Pertamina Assets as Venezuela Signals Call for Peace

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — PT Pertamina Internasional Eksplorasi dan Produksi confirmed on Monday, Jan 5, 2026 that its assets in Venezuela remain secure after United States forces detained President Nicolas Maduro, an escalation that has intensified geopolitical risk around the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

The assurance came as Venezuela’s interim leadership sought to de-escalate tensions, even as Washington signaled plans to reshape the country’s oil industry.

Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela’s vice president and acting head of government, said Caracas remained committed to peace and dialogue despite mounting external pressure.

“Venezuela reaffirms its vocation for peace and peaceful coexistence,” Rodriguez said in a public message. “Our country aspires to live without external threats, in an environment of respect and international cooperation.”

She added that Venezuela prioritized rebuilding relations with the United States and regional partners on the basis of sovereignty and non-interference.

“We consider it a priority to advance toward a balanced and respectful international relationship between the U.S. and Venezuela, based on sovereign equality and non-interference,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez also directly addressed US President Donald Trump, urging dialogue instead of military confrontation.

“Our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war,” she said. “That has always been the stance of President Nicolas Maduro and of all Venezuela at this moment.”

Against that backdrop, Pertamina said its exposure in Venezuela remained operationally unaffected.

PT Pertamina (Persero) operates in Venezuela through its upstream arm, PT Pertamina Internasional Eksplorasi dan Produksi, which holds a majority stake in Maurel & Prom.

Pertamina Internasional EP owns 71.09 percent of Maurel & Prom, an independent oil producer with assets across Latin America, including Venezuela.

“Based on our monitoring, there is no impact on Maurel & Prom assets or staff in Venezuela,” said Dhaneswari Retnowardhani, Manager Relations at Pertamina Internasional EP.

She said the company continued close coordination with the Indonesian Embassy in Caracas as part of ongoing risk mitigation measures.

Through Maurel & Prom, Pertamina holds a 50 percent interest in the Urdaneta West field under Iberoamerica Petroregional, with roughly 40 percent of production attributable to the project.

Maurel & Prom also participates in Blocks 70 and 80 via Legopetrol, giving it additional exposure to Venezuela’s heavy crude output.

The political shock has revived debate over Venezuela’s oil future, with US officials estimating that around $100 billion in investment and up to a decade would be needed to lift production toward four million barrels per day.

Venezuela currently produces about 1.1 million barrels per day, far below its late-1990s peak, despite holding roughly 303 billion barrels of proven reserves.

Rodriguez warned that sovereignty over those resources remained non-negotiable.

“Venezuela has the right to peace, to development, to its sovereignty, and to the future,” she said.

For Indonesia, the episode underscores how rapidly shifting geopolitics can place overseas assets of state-owned companies under scrutiny, even when operations on the ground remain stable.

National Energy Security

A member of Indonesia’s House of Representatives warned on Monday, Jan 5, 2026 that rising global uncertainty following the Venezuela crisis underscored the urgency of strengthening national energy security to shield the economy from external shocks.

Ratna Juwita Sari, a member of Commission XII overseeing energy affairs, said Indonesia must not ignore indirect spillover risks from geopolitical conflicts, even when they unfold far from Asia.

“Regardless of political factors, the most important priority for Indonesia is to strengthen our own energy security,” Ratna said in a statement on Monday.

She said the turmoil in Venezuela had the potential to affect Asia, including Indonesia, given that oil had long been at the core of international pressure and conflict surrounding the country.

Ratna said the Venezuela case showed that energy was no longer merely an economic commodity but a geopolitical instrument capable of shaping national stability.

She outlined several lessons Indonesia should take seriously from the crisis.

First, Ratna said abundant energy resources did not automatically guarantee sovereignty, pointing to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves that failed to prevent external pressure due to overreliance on a single sector, weak governance, and limited diversification.

Second, she said energy often became an entry point for economic and political intervention, urging Indonesia to ensure its energy policies were resilient to global volatility.

Third, Ratna stressed that energy sovereignty was inseparable from national resilience, encompassing economic strength, social stability, and political security.

“Indonesia must not wait for a crisis before reacting,” she said. “Venezuela should serve as an early alarm that energy security is the foundation of national sovereignty.”