Chevron plans to invest over $7 billion in Venezuela through its joint ventures to significantly increase oil production. The company aims to double its crude output to approximately 600,000 barrels per day within the next five years. This investment includes expanding Chevron's Petroindependencia joint venture to encompass two additional areas, Carabobo 1 and Carabobo-2-South-A, within Venezuela's Orinoco Belt, a region rich in heavy crude oil.
This move by Chevron is part of a larger trend of international oil producers and energy companies engaging with Venezuela to revitalize its struggling oil industry. Other companies, including Italy's ENI, Colombia's Geopark, U.S. power company GE Vernova, and Denver-based oil service firm Aspect, along with investors KEO Capital and Primavera, are also expected to sign energy agreements. KEO Capital, for instance, secured an agreement for the Petrourdaneta oil joint venture with PDVSA, including a $350 million credit facility.
The agreements are not directly linked to a separate Caracas-Washington deal granting the U.S. access to 17 large oilfields. Instead, most pacts relate to project expansions under a new oil reform approved in January. The current oil production in Venezuela is around 1.1 million to 1.25 million barrels per day, a significant decrease from its 3 million barrel-per-day peak in the late 1990s. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright noted that these deals are expected to more than double crude production in the coming years, contributing to downward pressure on oil prices. However, experts like Dan Alamariu of Alpine Macro caution that significant output growth will require substantial investment and time due to decayed infrastructure and the nature of Venezuela's extra-heavy crude.
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth expressed confidence in Venezuela's deep resource potential and its ability to attract investment, highlighting the company's century-long history in the country. The company estimates its production cost in Venezuela to be about $20 per barrel. This wave of investment follows years of underinvestment, mismanagement, and U.S. sanctions that have hampered Venezuela's oil industry, despite the country holding the world's largest proven oil reserves, exceeding 303 billion barrels according to OPEC's 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin.
