Spain's Repsol to regain control of Venezuelan oil assets in new deal

Spanish energy company Repsol is set to regain operational control of its oil assets in Venezuela under a new agreement with the government and state oil company PDVSA, in a deal expected to significantly increase production over the coming years.

The agreement, which is expected to be formally announced on April 15, would allow Repsol to triple output from its Venezuelan operations within three years and introduce a payment mechanism intended to ensure more reliable revenue flows from the country’s oil sector, according to people familiar with the arrangement, Financial Times reports.

Repsol will work alongside Venezuela’s state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela as part of broader efforts to revive the country’s struggling energy industry, which has suffered years of underinvestment, sanctions, and production decline.

The Spanish firm previously reached an operating arrangement in 2023 to maintain its presence in Venezuela, but that agreement was later affected after the United States under President Donald Trump tightened sanctions and revoked licences for several Western companies operating in the country.

The new framework does not include repayment guarantees for an estimated $4.55 billion that Repsol says it is owed for past unpaid oil and gas deliveries. However, it introduces a payment structure designed to ensure future production is compensated more consistently.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but output has fallen sharply from its peak of around 3.5 million barrels per day in the 1990s to roughly 1 million barrels per day in recent years, according to industry estimates.

The agreement comes as other international energy firms, including Chevron, also expand or renegotiate their presence in Venezuela amid a gradual easing of some US sanctions and renewed efforts to attract foreign investment into the sector.

By Sabina Mammadli