Chevron is set to expand its oil operations in Venezuela through a joint venture that will see the company invest more than $7 billion over the next five years. The Houston-based energy giant announced the plans on Wednesday, shortly after a landmark agreement was reached between the United States and Venezuela granting the U.S. access to 65 billion barrels of oil.
The expansion will target the Orinoco Belt, the region holding the vast majority of Venezuela's oil reserves. Chevron plans to scale up its production to approximately 600,000 barrels of oil per day.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, and Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez held a joint press conference on Wednesday morning at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas to discuss the development. Wright described the moment as "transformative," stating that "the catalyst for transforming Venezuela is energy. The catalyst for improving the life conditions of Americans, our hemisphere, and everyone in the world, is to massively expand energy production around the world."
Chevron's decision to deepen its commitment stands in contrast to other American oil companies that have hesitated to return to the country. In January, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods went so far as to label Venezuela "uninvestable" during a White House meeting.
Venezuela has been producing oil for nearly a century and was a founding member of OPEC. Chevron's history in the country dates back to the 1920s. While other major rivals like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips exited the nation in 2007 after then-President Hugo Chávez renegotiated contracts to tighten state control, Chevron chose to remain, navigating both the 1976 nationalization and the subsequent policy shifts of the 1990s.
However, extracting and refining Venezuela's massive reserves presents severe logistical hurdles, as much of the oil remains deep underground. Alejandro Velasco, a New York University historian specializing in Venezuela and Latin America, compared the situation to "sitting on a lottery ticket that's just a little bit out of our reach, and you're always having to try to stretch yourself to get it."
Velasco noted that a combination of corruption and low oil prices in the early 2000s has left the nation's energy infrastructure in disrepair for more than a decade. Refineries currently feature rusty equipment, leaks, and security breaches, including broken fences where copper wire thieves have entered.
Industry experts emphasize that stabilizing and increasing output will be a long, expensive process. Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at the independent research firm Rystad Energy, remarked that "all of [the challenges] need to be solved before even thinking about increasing production in a sustained manner." In January, Rystad analysts estimated that it would require more than a decade and $183 billion in investment to successfully restore Venezuela's oil production to its 1990s-era level of roughly 3 million barrels per day.
Guinea-flagged crude oil tanker Avril waits its turn to be loaded with crude oil at Lake Maracaibo in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela on May 9, 2025. FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A previous version of this story incorrectly said in one instance that the Trump administration's joint venture with North American Blue Energy Partners would develop 17 Venezuelan fields worth an estimated 65 barrels of oil. They are estimated to be worth 65 billion barrels, according to the Trump administration.
