Chevron to invest more than $7bn in Venezuela expansion and new Orinoco acreage
Chevron has said it will invest more than $7bn in its Venezuela joint ventures as it expands its operations in the country's Orinoco Belt. The company said the plan will allow it to double production to about 600,000 barrels per day over the next five years. It also said it has been assigned additional acreage and will extend its Petroindependencia joint venture into two adjacent areas in the Carabobo region.
Sponsored
The announcement was made on Wednesday and comes as the company says it remains the only US oil firm with a major presence in Venezuela. Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth said the company's history in the country spans more than a century and that the expanded position reflects confidence in Venezuela's resource potential. The company also said the new agreements include improved fiscal, commercial and legal terms intended to protect long-term investment.
Chevron said the development will build on existing facilities and pipeline infrastructure, which it said are already in good condition. Wirth said in an interview that the company expects production costs of less than $20 per barrel, arguing that the expansion is cheaper than developing a new field from scratch. The company's stated target is significant because Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, but current output remains far below its peak of more than 3 million barrels per day two decades ago.
The move also comes days after the US president unveiled a separate deal involving a fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves, with the US government taking an equity stake in a private oil firm operating there. Chevron said its own expansion is separate from that arrangement, but the timing adds to a broader push to raise output in the country. Venezuela's oil sector has been constrained for years by mismanagement, underinvestment at the state-run oil company and US sanctions.
Sponsored
The latest plan highlights the continuing role of foreign partners in a sector that remains central to Venezuela's economy. It also underlines the strategic importance of the Orinoco Belt, where much of the country's heavy crude is concentrated. For Chevron, the expansion strengthens a long-running presence in a market that has become more politically and commercially complex.
What remains unclear is how quickly the new acreage can be brought into production and how the agreements will perform in practice. It is also not yet clear how the expansion will interact with wider US policy toward Venezuela or with other foreign operators active in the country. The next focus will be on whether Chevron can meet its five-year production target and whether the new terms hold up as investment progresses.
Sponsored
