Chevron Plans $7 Billion Venezuela Expansion to Double Oil Production/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Chevron will invest more than $7 billion in Venezuela over five years after receiving additional acreage in the Orinoco Oil Belt. The company aims to more than double its 2026 production to approximately 600,000 barrels per day. Analysts warn that degraded infrastructure, sanctions and questions about the broader U.S.-Venezuela agreement could complicate the expansion.
Quick Look
- Chevron confirmed its Venezuelan expansion Wednesday.
- It is the only U.S. oil company with a major existing presence in the country.
- Chevron received additional acreage in the Orinoco Oil Belt.
- The company plans to invest more than $7 billion over five years.
- Its production target is approximately 600,000 barrels per day.
- Venezuela holds more than 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.
- The country currently produces just over 1 million barrels daily.
- The United States produces nearly 14 million barrels per day.
- Chevron has operated in Venezuela since 1923.
- The White House identified North American Blue Energy Partners as a partner in its broader oil initiative.
- Critics question whether Venezuela’s acting government can grant long-term development rights without legislative approval.
- Exxon Mobil said its assessment that Venezuela is “uninvestable” has not changed.
- U.S. gasoline rose to an average of $4.12 per gallon.
Deep Look
Chevron confirms major Venezuelan expansion
Chevron confirmed Wednesday that it will significantly expand its oil operations in Venezuela.
The second-largest U.S. oil company received additional acreage in the Orinoco Oil Belt, where it already participates in major extraction projects.
Chevron plans to invest more than $7 billion over the next five years. Its goal is to more than double Venezuelan production from its 2026 level to approximately 600,000 barrels per day.
“Chevron’s history in Venezuela spans more than a century, and our expanded position reflects our confidence in the country’s deep resource potential and its ability to compete for investment within our portfolio for decades,” CEO Mike Wirth said in a prepared statement.
Venezuela holds world’s largest proven reserves
Venezuela has more than 303 billion barrels of proven crude-oil reserves, according to OPEC’s 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin.
That gives the country the largest known reserves in the world. Saudi Arabia ranks second with approximately 267 billion barrels.
Despite its immense resources, Venezuela produces slightly more than 1 million barrels per day because of deteriorated infrastructure, sanctions and years of insufficient investment.
Saudi Arabia produces between 10 million and 11 million barrels each day, while U.S. production is nearly 14 million barrels daily.
Chevron has operated there since 1923
Chevron’s involvement in Venezuela dates to 1923.
Its joint ventures Petroindependencia and Petropiar operate extra-heavy crude projects in the Orinoco Oil Belt.
Another joint venture, Petroboscan, operates in Zulia state in western Venezuela.
Chevron maintained its position after other American companies withdrew or lost their assets during previous nationalization efforts, giving it an existing operational base for expansion.
Announcement follows Trump oil initiative
Chevron’s plans were confirmed days after President Donald Trump announced a broader agreement to develop Venezuela’s oil industry.
The White House said Monday that it is partnering with North American Blue Energy Partners as part of the initiative.
The administration says it wants to increase private-sector confidence and encourage American businesses to return to Venezuela.
“What we’re doing is increasing the confidence for private businesses to come do deals in Venezuela, directly with the government of Venezuela,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said during an interview on CNBC.
Trump’s proposed arrangement involves 17 fields believed to contain as much as 65 billion barrels of oil.
Details of broader deal remain uncertain
The Trump administration has released limited information about the structure of its agreement with Venezuela.
Questions remain about the precise ownership arrangementshow development will be financed and which companies will operate individual fields.
The administration previously said the United States would receive 55% of the effective output from a new private company, combining an ownership interest with the right to purchase crude at cost.
American purchases would help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and supply the military, according to an official familiar with the arrangement.
Analysts question legal authority
Analysts have raised concerns about whether acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez has the authority to grant 100-year development rights over the oil fields.
Venezuela’s Constitution requires arrangements of this nature to receive approval from the National Assembly, wrote Ian Vásquez, vice president for international studies at the Cato Institute.
The legislature has not approved the agreement.
“The deal lacks legitimacy since it was agreed to with a dictatorship that has clung to power for decades through violence and by committing what was probably the largest electoral fraud in Latin American history in 2024,” Vásquez wrote. “The agreement was also reached under overwhelming pressure, military and otherwise, from the United States. As such, any future Venezuelan democracy will question the deal, thus undermining confidence in the current arrangement.”
Future governments could reverse course
Political uncertainty poses a long-term risk for Chevron and other potential investors.
A future Venezuelan government could challenge contracts approved by the Rodríguez administration. A later U.S. administration could also revise or abandon Washington’s support for the arrangement.
Oil developments require enormous investments over many years, making companies particularly sensitive to the possibility that contracts or legal protections could change before projects become profitable.
Those risks help explain why most major American oil companies have not committed to returning.
Exxon says Venezuela remains “uninvestable”
Trump has repeatedly suggested that several U.S. oil companies are preparing to enter Venezuela.
“We have Exxon going in, we have Chevron going in. We have our big oil companies going in,” Trump said in January.
Chevron has now confirmed its expansion, but there is no evidence that Exxon Mobil has changed its position.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods described Venezuela as “uninvestable” in January.
An Exxon spokesperson said this week that “nothing has changed.”
Nationalization history makes companies cautious
Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1976 and created the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.
A second nationalization occurred in 2007 under President Hugo Chávez.
Chávez required foreign oil producers to participate in state-controlled joint ventures. Chevron accepted that structure and remained in the country.
Exxon and ConocoPhillips refused, prompting Venezuela to seize their assets.
That history continues to shape corporate concerns about property rights, contract enforcement and political stability.
Infrastructure will require years of repairs
Venezuela’s production capacity has declined after years of neglected maintenance, mismanagement, sanctions and insufficient investment.
Reviving the industry will require repairing pipelines, wells, refineries, electricity systems and export facilities.
Experts estimate that restoring and substantially increasing output could take years and cost tens of billions of dollars.
Chevron’s $7 billion commitment is significant but represents only part of the investment required to rebuild Venezuela’s broader energy sector.
No immediate relief for gasoline prices
Trump has said the Venezuela agreement will “substantially lower” gasoline prices in the United States.
Experts caution that the projects cannot produce enough additional oil quickly to affect retail fuel prices in the near term.
The national average for regular gasoline rose overnight to $4.12 per gallon, according to AAA.
That was 93 cents higher than at the same point in 2025.
Energy prices remain under pressure from the war with Iran and the severe disruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
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