The self-declared leader of Venezuela, Juan Guaido, is attempting to wrest control of the nation’s massive oil revenues.

The country’s congress, controlled by the opposition, has appointed a transitional board of directors for Venezuela’s state oil firm.

Embattled socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, lashed out at congress leader Mr Guaido, saying he would face the courts “sooner or later” for violating the constitution. Mr Guaido has invoked constitutional provisions to name himself interim president.

Mr Guaido said “the rescue of our oil industry has begun” after he announced the new board will oversee the PDVSA oil company as well as its US subsidiary, Houston-based refiner Citgo.

Although Mr Guaido has the backing of the US, as well as most South American and European nations, Mr Maduro retains control of the state’s institutions.

Mr Guaido will need funds if he is to assemble an interim government, and controlling Citgo, Venezuela’s most valuable foreign asset, would go some way towards providing them.

Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value Show all 13 1 /13 Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-3.jpg FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2019 file photo, Venezuelan migrant Edixon Infante shows a handicraft made in with devalued Venezuelan currency, in Cucuta, Colombia. The Venezuelan government and its state-owned entities currently owe around $150 billion to creditors around the world, while the countryÃ¢â¬â¢s foreign currency reserves have fallen to just $8 billion. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File) AP Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-1.jpg A Venezuelan migrant shows handicrafts made in with devalued Venezuelan currency, in Cucuta, Colombia, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. The Venezuelan military blocked a border bridge where humanitarian aid is expected to arrive with a tanker and two cargo trailers, Colombian officials said Monday, in an apparent bid to stop the loads of food and other supplies from entering the country. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) AP Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-2.jpg Venezuelan migrant Edixon Infante shows his handicrafts made in with devalued Venezuelan currency, in Cucuta, Colombia, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. Tensions in the area have risen since the Venezuelan military blocked a border bridge where humanitarian aid is expected to arrive with a tanker and two cargo trailers, Colombian officials said Monday, in an apparent bid to stop the loads of food and other supplies from entering the country. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) AP Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-5.jpg Closeup of a purse made by Venezuelan Wilmer Rojas, out of Bolivar banknotes in Caracas on January 30, 2018. - A young Venezuelan tries to make a living out of devalued Bolivar banknotes by making crafts with them. (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Margioni BERMUDEZ (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-4.jpg Detail of a bag made with Bolivarian money seen in the La Parada neighborhood in Cucuta, Colombia, near the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, on the border with Tachira, Venezuela, on February 9, 2019. - Venezuelans cross to Colombia to buy groceries due to the shortages in their country. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed on Friday not to let in "fake" aid from the United States requested by opposition leader Juan Guaido, which is being stockpiled at the border with Colombia. (Photo by Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP)RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-6.jpg Wilmer Rojas, 25, shows the purses he sewn up, using Bolivar bills in Caracas, on January 30, 2018. - A young Venezuelan tries to make a living out of devalued Bolivar banknotes by making crafts with them. (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Margioni BERMUDEZ (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-8.jpg Torn apart Venezuelan two-Bolivar banknotes lie in a street of Caracas on January 28, 2019. - Venezuela devalued its currency by almost 35 percent on Monday to bring it into line with the exchange rate of the dollar on the black market. The exchange rate is now fixed at 3,200 bolivars to the dollar, almost matching the 3,118.62 offered on the dolartoday.com site that acts as the reference for the black market. (Photo by YURI CORTEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-9.jpg CARACAS, VENEZUELA - FEBRUARY 02: A woman holds a sign that reads 'No more dictatorship' during a rally against the government of NicolÃ¡s Maduro in the streets of Caracas on February 2, 2019 in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela's self-declared president and accepted by over 20 countries, Juan Guaido, called Venezuelans to the streets and demands the resignation of NicolÃ¡s Maduro. (Photo by Marco Bello/Getty Images) Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-7.jpg CARACAS, VENEZUELA - FEBRUARY 02: People shout slogans during a rally against the government of NicolÃÂ¡s Maduro in the streets of Caracas on February 2, 2019 in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela's self-declared president and accepted by over 20 countries, Juan Guaido, called Venezuelans to the streets and demands the resignation of NicolÃÂ¡s Maduro. (Photo by Marco Bello/Getty Images) Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-10.jpg CARACAS, VENEZUELA - JANUARY 30: A woman holds a banner that reads "No more deaths due to lack of medicines" during a demonstration against the government of President NicolÃ¡s Maduro called by the opposition leader self-proclaimed âacting presidentâ Juan Guaido on January 30, 2019 in Caracas, Venezuela. Guaido is appealing international leaders and military forces to recognize him as the rightful president of Venezuela. (Photo by Marco Bello/Getty Images) Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-15.jpg A man cleans his stall selling hot dogs and hamburgers with new grocery prices in Caracas, Venezuela on January 15, 2019. - The president of Venezuela, NicolÃ¡s Maduro, increased the minimum wage by 300% Monday, a measure that was accompanied by a devaluation of 9.18% of the local currency, the bolivar. The new minimum income reaches two kilos of meat, in the middle of a hyperinflation that -according to the IMF- will reach 10,000,000% this year. (Photo by YURI CORTEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-14.jpg TOPSHOT - A man holds a cardboard with empty packages of different products and their prices, during a mass opposition rally against leader Nicolas Maduro in which Venezuela's National Assembly head Juan Guaido (out of frame) declared himself the country's "acting president", on the anniversary of a 1958 uprising that overthrew a military dictatorship, in Caracas on January 23, 2019. - "I swear to formally assume the national executive powers as acting president of Venezuela to end the usurpation, (install) a transitional government and hold free elections," said Guaido as thousands of supporters cheered. Moments earlier, the loyalist-dominated Supreme Court ordered a criminal investigation of the opposition-controlled legislature. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-11.jpg People raise their hands during a mass opposition rally against President Nicolas Maduro in which Venezuela's National Assembly head Juan Guaido (out of frame) declared himself the country's "acting president", on the anniversary of a 1958 uprising that overthrew a military dictatorship, in Caracas on January 23, 2019. - "I swear to formally assume the national executive powers as acting president of Venezuela to end the usurpation, (install) a transitional government and hold free elections," said Guaido as thousands of supporters cheered. Moments earlier, the loyalist-dominated Supreme Court ordered a criminal investigation of the opposition-controlled legislature. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty

However, seizing control of PDVSA remains unlikely while Mr Maduro is in power. He has retained the support of the courts, administration officials and, most importantly, the military.

“We have taken a step forward with the reconstruction of PDVSA,” Mr Guaido said on Twitter, just after congress named the new directors. “With this decision, we are not only protecting our assets, we also avoid continued destruction.”

The company’s crude output has slumped to a 70-year low due to crushing debts, widespread corruption and little maintenance of its infrastructure, exacerbating the nation’s steep economic decline.

It comes after Donald Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, aimed at curbing exports to the US and increasing the pressure on Mr Maduro.

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The proposed Citgo board would be composed of Venezuelans Luisa Palacios, Angel Olmeta, Luis Urdaneta and Edgar Rincon, all of whom are currently living in the United States, plus one American director.

The nominations fuel the growing duel for control between Mr Guaido and Mr Maduro, who has promised he will not allow Citgo to be “stolen”.

An oil pumpjack painted with the colours of the Venezuelan flag (Reuters)

Mr Guaido’s representative in Washington, Carlos Vecchio, said company operations would be maintained as they are, with the same employees. He said the move was taken to prevent Citgo from being “plundered by the dictatorship”.

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Mr Vecchio has previously said the government-in-waiting would allow foreign private oil companies a greater stake in joint ventures with PDVSA in order to increase oil production.

“The majority of the oil production that we want to increase will be with the private sector,” he said earlier this month.

He said the country under Mr Guaido would honour all “legal” and financial” debt, but suggested it may not honour debt agreements signed by Mr Maduro in which the country pays creditors with oil.