Chevron is to invest more than $7 billion in Venezuela over the next five years as it more than doubles production in the country to about 600,000 barrels a day.
The Houston-based oil giant said the expansion would be supported by access to additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt, the centre of Venezuela’s heavy-oil industry. The planned output would represent more than half of the country’s current production.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration moves to give US companies a larger role in Venezuela’s oil sector following the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro by US forces in January.
A signing ceremony is due to take place at the presidential palace in Caracas, with Venezuela’s successor leader, Delcy Rodríguez, and US energy secretary Chris Wright expected to attend.
Chevron’s chief executive, Mike Wirth, said the company’s decision reflected its confidence in Venezuela’s resources and its long-term investment prospects.
“With improved terms and additional acreage, we are strengthening a portfolio that we believe can deliver attractive low-cost oil growth, support energy supply and create differentiated long-term value,” he said.
Chevron expansion strengthens US position in Venezuela
Chevron is the only major US oil producer to have maintained a substantial presence in Venezuela after the government forced foreign companies to accept smaller stakes in their projects. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips withdrew after refusing the terms.
The company has operated in Venezuela since 1923. Its joint ventures include Petroindependencia and Petropiar, which produce extra-heavy crude in the Orinoco Oil Belt, and Petroboscan in western Zulia state.
Chevron was producing about 280,000 barrels a day in Venezuela earlier this summer. Its chief financial officer, Eimear Bonner, had previously said output could rise by as much as 50 per cent by the end of 2028.
The company’s expansion is separate from a controversial US partnership with North American Blue Energy Partners, controlled by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt López. Under that arrangement, the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital would have the option to take a 35 per cent stake in the venture’s parent company.
The US government would also receive preferential access to oil produced by the company and a significant say in its corporate governance, raising the prospect of greater American influence over Venezuela’s energy industry.
Chevron’s strengthened position follows an asset agreement earlier this year with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, and places the company at the centre of Washington’s effort to revive production in the oil-rich country.
