Chevron is expected to announce on Wednesday the expansion of its current operations in the country, which will increase Venezuela’s productive capacity. According to an anonymous U.S. official, the Texas-based oil company has been negotiating rights to operate two large fields located in Carabobo state within the Orinoco Belt, believed to hold billions of barrels in heavy crude reserves. The announcement forms part of the Trump administration’s plan to increase Venezuelan crude production to levels prior to the arrival of chavismo and expand the presence of U.S.-aligned companies in the Venezuelan oil market following the capture and deposition of Nicolás Maduro in January.
The visit coincides with the broader agreement announced Friday by President Trump, which grants North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), a Barbados-based company considered the second-largest private operator in the Venezuelan market, exploitation rights to approximately 65,000 million barrels of proven reserves. NABEP, controlled by Venezuelan investor Alejandro Betancourt, has granted the U.S. Department of Defense’s Strategic Capital Office a 35 percent equity stake in its parent company at no cost to American taxpayers. The agreement covers 17 oil fields for a 100-year period, with NABEP required to sell 20 percent of production to the United States at cost.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Gustavo González López publicly backed the agreements Tuesday, stating that “transforming a political difference into an economic cooperation agreement is simply a decision to pursue peace, not subordination.” The National Assembly, dominated by government supporters, also approved the framework, though some opposition legislators abstained and demanded access to written terms. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the arrangement in a Spanish-language interview, explaining that a private company is working with the U.S. government through the Department of Defense to “normalize” Venezuela’s economy and attract necessary private investment to develop field production capacity.
The surge in fuel prices has become a significant challenge for the Trump administration ahead of November’s midterm legislative elections, particularly as the conflict with Iran has forced the release of nearly half of the federal government’s strategic petroleum reserves since February.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
