The Houston-based company said agreements reached with Venezuela provide updated fiscal, commercial and legal terms intended to support long-term investment, project development and higher production. Chevron was also assigned additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt, one of the world’s largest concentrations of heavy crude.
The expansion centres on Petroindependencia, a joint venture in which a Chevron subsidiary holds a 49 per cent interest. The venture has received rights to develop the neighbouring Carabobo-1 and Carabobo-2-South-A areas, extending its existing footprint in the Orinoco Belt and giving it access to additional extra-heavy oil resources.
Chevron said the planned investment would lift output from its Venezuelan ventures to approximately 600,000 barrels a day compared with 2026 levels. Its three joint ventures in the country have already increased production by about 15 per cent so far this year.
Chief executive Mike Wirth said the expanded position reflected Chevron’s confidence in Venezuela’s resource base and its ability to compete for investment within the company’s global portfolio. He said improved terms and additional acreage could support low-cost production growth while adding to energy supplies.
The company expects total production costs in Venezuela to remain below $20 a barrel. Wirth said existing roads, power, water, pipelines and other facilities should allow Chevron to develop the newly assigned areas at lower cost than projects requiring entirely new infrastructure.
Chevron executives, including Wirth, met Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas on Wednesday. The visit coincided with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s trip to the capital as Washington promotes new investment intended to rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry and raise production.
Wright said Venezuela’s total oil output could reach 2 million barrels a day by the end of the decade. Current national production is about 1.25 million barrels a day, well below levels above 3 million barrels a day achieved more than two decades ago.
Chevron’s agreements are separate from a broader US-backed initiative announced days earlier involving North American Blue Energy Partners, which is seeking to develop a group of Venezuelan oilfields containing tens of billions of barrels of crude. Washington has encouraged energy companies to commit capital as part of a wider effort to restore production and infrastructure.
The Chevron investment follows changes to Venezuela’s hydrocarbons framework and months of negotiations over terms designed to make projects more commercially attractive. The company said the new provisions strengthen protections for investment while providing a clearer basis for future development.
Venezuelan authorities said the agreements formalised conversion contracts covering Petroboscán, Petropiar and Petroindependencia under revisions to the hydrocarbons law approved in January. The signing took place in Caracas with Rodríguez and Wright present, placing Chevron’s expansion among the first commitments under the revised investment framework.
The additional Carabobo areas are greenfield sites beside Petroindependencia’s existing operations. Chevron said development plans will draw on established facilities and experience while the ventures evaluate further opportunities across their portfolio.
Chevron has three main joint ventures in Venezuela. Petroindependencia and Petropiar operate in the Orinoco Belt, while Petroboscán produces oil in western Zulia state. An agreement reached in April raised Chevron’s interest in Petroindependencia to 49 per cent and gave Petropiar rights to develop the adjacent Ayacucho 8 area.
Petropiar, in which Chevron holds a 30 per cent interest, produces and upgrades extra-heavy crude from the Orinoco Belt into lighter synthetic oil. Chevron also holds a 39.2 per cent interest in Petroboscán, which operates the Boscan field.
The company has maintained a presence in Venezuela since 1923, unlike some other large US producers that left after earlier nationalisations. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have not returned to large-scale operations, reflecting continued caution over legal, political and commercial risks.
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