Venezuela: Chevron will invest $7 billion to more than double its crude oil production in five years
The agreement is part of the Petroindependencia joint venture, in which Chevron holds a 49% stake, and will expand the company's presence in the Orinoco extra-heavy crude region.
A Chevron gas station—File photo
Oil company Chevron announced Wednesday an agreement with Venezuela to develop two new fields in the Orinoco Oil Belt, with an investment of more than $7 billion over the next five years, which will allow the company to more than double its production in the country to reach approximately 600,000 barrels per day.
Presence in the Orinoco with Petroindependencia
According to AFP, the agreement is part of the Petroindependencia joint venture, in which Chevron holds a 49% stake, and entails expanding the company's presence in the Orinoco extra-heavy crude region, where it already operated, with the allocation of two additional areas that will increase its production capacity from the current approximately 280,000 barrels per day.
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth pointed out that the U.S. major has operated in Venezuela for more than a century, adding that the country’s "deep resource potential" could mean "decades" of further investment.
Chevron emphasizes that, with the new fiscal, commercial and legal conditions and the additional acreage in the Orinoco, it is strengthening a portfolio it believes can deliver "attractive, low-cost oil growth," support energy supply, and generate "differentiated long-term value." The company specified that total production costs would remain below $20 per barrel for these projects.
A move aimed at U.S. energy security
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright arrived in Venezuela on Tuesday to finalize an agreement that would give the United States control of roughly one-fifth of the country’s oil reserves.
According to Chevron’s press release, Wirth commended Wright’s efforts to "facilitate the conditions for further investment and growth."
"Continued engagement between government and industry is essential to advancing projects that support energy security, economic growth and continued investment," he stated.
The announcement comes just days after President Donald Trump unveiled a broad agreement with the interim authorities of the Venezuelan regime that grants the United States majority control over a significant portion of the country's proven crude oil reserves, amid maximum pressure on the Chavista regime following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces in January and his transfer to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
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