PDVSA, which is Latin America's largest producer of petroleum, is struggling to maintain its productivity following the weeks of politically instability in April, which resulted in a failed coup d'etat against the Government of Hugo Chavez.

It is understood Mr Rodriguez - a close confidant of President Hugo Chavez - only agreed to take on the mammoth task if Mr Chavez let him have a free hand in shaping the state's petroleum policy.

In February, Mr Chavez sacked the entire PDVSA board of directors sparking nationwide protests in Venezeula, which is the world's fourth biggest oil exporter and a founding member of the OPEC cartel of oil producing countries.

There is currently a heated debate among Venezuela's top economists and entrepreneurs about how Mr Rodriguez should run PDVSA with some economists supporting part-privatisation of the $US58 billion conglomerate however this would likely to be opposed by the populist Hugo Chavez.

According to Britain's Guardian newspaper, Hugo Chavez had advanced warning of last month's coup attempt against him from Ali Rodriguez, allowing him to prepare an extraordinary plan that saved both his government and his life, an investigation has revealed.

The OPEC chief warned Mr Chavez that the US would prod a long-simmering coup into action to break an Arab embargo threat against the US over its support for Israel. The likely date for action was 11 April, the date a general wide strike was due to start.

The warning allowed Mr Chavez to hide some several hundred troops in the Presidential Palace so that the coup leader Pedro Carmora, and his military backers were forced to surrender without firing a shot.