Chevron, Eni pour new investment into Venezuela’s oil sector

US energy giant Chevron has agreed new terms with Venezuela that will allow it to expand its operations and invest more than $7 billion over the next five years.

The company said the agreements would more than double production from its Venezuelan joint ventures to about 600,000 barrels a day, compared with 2026 levels.

Chevron Chairman and Chief Executive Mike Wirth said the expanded position reflected the company’s confidence in Venezuela’s oil resources and its potential to attract long-term investment.

Chevron has also been granted rights to develop two additional areas in the Orinoco Oil Belt through its Petroindependencia joint venture, in which it holds a 49% stake.

Wirth thanked the US administration, particularly the Department of Energy and Secretary Chris Wright, for helping create conditions for further investment and growth, saying continued government-industry engagement was important for energy security and economic growth.

The expansion follows an agreement in April that increased Chevron’s interest in Petroindependencia and gave it rights to another area. The company said production from its three Venezuelan joint ventures had risen 15% so far this year.

Chevron has operated in Venezuela since 1923 and has interests in oil projects in the Orinoco Belt and western Zulia state.

Moreover, Italian energy company Eni has also signed a 25-year production agreement with Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA to develop the giant Junín-5 oil field in the Orinoco Belt.

The agreement, signed in Caracas in the presence of Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, makes Eni the field’s exclusive operator, responsible for its technical, financial and commercial management.

Junín-5 holds about 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place and currently produces around 12,000 barrels per day. The new agreement replaces the previous Petrojunín joint-venture operating model.

By Aghakazim Guliyev