Chevron and other U.S. energy companies are closing in on deals worth billions to develop Venezuelan oil fields, days after Washington struck a separate agreement giving the U.S. government a direct stake in the country’s most promising reserves. This two-track push could bring waves of foreign workers into Venezuela.
Executives from several oil-and-gas companies are expected to sign production agreements in Caracas this week, with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright reportedly attending. Halliburton is also in talks to supply oil-field services. Many fields on offer are “greenfields” lacking infrastructure, meaning developers will need to mobilize large project teams from scratch. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips remain on the sidelines, still pursuing restitution for 2007 nationalizations, while Hunt Oil became the first U.S. firm to sign a new production deal.
Separately, President Trump announced a deal in which the U.S. and an unnamed private Venezuelan operator formed a new company holding rights to 17 untapped fields for 100 years. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said the deal could draw $100 billion in investment; key details, including funding sources, remain undisclosed.
Non-U.S. companies are moving too: Spain’s Repsol and Italy’s Eni are expanding existing joint ventures with PDVSA following recent U.S. license approvals, with Repsol aiming to roughly triple production, while trading houses Vitol and Trafigura compete for export roles.
Member Impact: Greenfield development typically requires waves of expatriate engineers, project managers, and technical staff, along with their households. With both U.S. and European operators converging on Venezuela, members with energy-sector clients could see activity.
Source: The Wall Street Journal; PBS NewsHour; Yahoo Finance — Repsol