Chevron has announced an investment exceeding $7 billion in its joint ventures in Venezuela to boost oil production to around 600,000 barrels per day within the next five years. The U.S. oil giant disclosed that its Petroindependencia joint venture will be expanded to encompass two additional areas in the Carabobo region situated in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt.
Chevron’s CEO, Mike Wirth, emphasized the company’s long-standing presence in Venezuela, spanning over a century, and expressed confidence in the nation’s abundant resources and investment potential. This development comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump revealed a significant deal involving a substantial portion of Venezuela’s oil reserves, with the U.S. government acquiring an equity stake in a private oil company operating in the region. Although separate from this arrangement, Chevron’s expansion aligns with Trump’s push to enhance oil output in Venezuela.
Venezuela boasts the world’s largest oil reserves, yet its current production stands at approximately 1.25 million barrels per day, a drastic decline from the over three million barrels per day achieved two decades ago due to operational mismanagement and underinvestment by the state-run oil firm PDVSA. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright anticipates Venezuela’s total oil output to reach two million barrels per day by the end of the decade.
Chevron’s new agreements offer improved fiscal, commercial, and legal terms to safeguard long-term investments, with expected production costs below $20 per barrel. The company highlighted the existing infrastructure’s good condition, indicating that development in the new areas will capitalize on preexisting facilities and pipeline networks.
During discussions with interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez, Wirth and other Chevron executives affirmed their commitment to sustainable growth at minimal costs, contrasting with the challenges associated with establishing operations in undeveloped regions.
Apart from Chevron, other key players such as ENI, KEO Capital, and Primavera, a company co-founded by billionaire Fred Ehrsam, are set to finalize energy agreements in Venezuela imminently. These agreements, part of a comprehensive oil reform approved in January, imply expansions of ongoing projects transitioning to new terms. U.S. Energy Secretary Wright and Venezuelan Oil Minister Paula Henao are anticipated to oversee the contract signings.
Following the removal of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, Trump initiated a $100-billion reconstruction plan for Venezuela’s energy sector, encouraging U.S. oil companies to invest in the country. Despite ongoing operations in Venezuela for a century, oil giants ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips exited in 2007 when their assets were nationalized under the previous government, retaining a cautious stance ever since.
Chevron, with a presence in Venezuela since 1923 through three joint ventures, is reinforcing its foothold in the region. As Chevron expands, the U.S. stake in North American Blue Energy Partners’ blueprint to develop 17 oilfields holding approximately 64 billion barrels of crude reserves signals a significant shift in the industry landscape, according to Oswaldo Felizzola from the Superior Administrative Studies Institute in Venezuela.
The evolving dynamics underscore a transformative phase in Venezuela’s oil sector, with Chevron’s strategic investments and the broader U.S. involvement shaping the industry’s trajectory.
