Venezuela signed major energy investment agreements Wednesday with US oil company Chevron and Italian energy major Eni during a visit to Caracas by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
The agreements were signed in the presence of Acting President Delcy Rodriguez and Wright, less than a week after Washington announced a historic energy agreement with Caracas aimed at expanding Venezuela’s oil production and attracting foreign investment.
Chevron confirmed it will invest more than $7 billion over the next five years across its Venezuelan joint ventures with state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), aiming to raise output to approximately 600,000 barrels per day.
Under the new terms, Chevron was granted additional acreage in the resource-rich Orinoco Belt adjacent to its existing operations.
“Chevron’s history in Venezuela spans more than a century, and our expanded position reflects our confidence in the country’s deep resource potential and its ability to compete for investments within our portfolio for decades,” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said in a statement.
“With improved conditions and additional land, we are strengthening a portfolio that we believe can deliver attractive, low-cost oil growth, support energy supply, and create differentiated value over the long term.”
Chevron has maintained a continuous presence in Venezuela since 1923 and operates major heavy crude projects including the Petropiar and Petroindependencia joint ventures in the Orinoco Belt, as well as Petroboscán in western Zulia state.
Eni also finalized a 25-year strategic contract under which it will become the exclusive operator of the Junin 5 heavy oil field in the Orinoco Belt.
Moving away from a joint venture model with PDVSA, Eni will assume full technical, financial and commercial management of the field, which holds an estimated 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place.
Eni, which has operated in Venezuela since 1998, aims to increase Junín 5 production to 400,000 barrels per day by the end of the decade, with estimated annual investment of $1.5 billion.
Beyond heavy crude, Eni is also a major supplier to Venezuela’s domestic energy system. Through its Cardon IV venture with Spain’s Repsol, the company operates the offshore Perla field, the largest gas discovery in Latin America, which accounts for nearly 35% of Venezuela’s natural gas consumption.
“This agreement represents a new pillar for the revival of the country’s oil and gas sector, at a historic time when energy security … is vital to global stability,” Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi stated following the signing.
PDVSA also signed a strategic alliance with US-based GE Vernova to rehabilitate electrical infrastructure serving Venezuela’s petroleum industry.
GE Vernova separately signed an agreement with state-owned National Electric Corporation, known as Corpoelec, aimed at strengthening the national electricity system.
The agreements come as Venezuela seeks to restore an energy sector weakened by years of underinvestment, operational problems and US sanctions.
The announcements build on President Donald Trump’s plan to unlock Venezuela’s crude reserves, which OPEC data puts at more than 303 billion barrels, the world’s largest proven reserves.
Wright, who previously visited Chevron’s Orinoco Belt operations alongside Rodriguez during bilateral talks in February, highlighted the diplomatic and economic goals of the agreements.
“These investment agreements in Venezuela seek to bring peace, opportunity, and prosperity to the people of Venezuela and the people of the United States,” Wright said upon his arrival.