Chevron, ONGC near final energy deals in Venezuela

Chevron ↗ 0.47%, India's ONGC Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, GE Vernova ↗ 4.00%, Italy's Eni ↗ 0.58%, and Colombia's GeoPark ↘ 1.11% are on track to sign final energy agreements in Venezuela as early as this week, according to five sources close to the preparations cited by Reuters.reuters

The deals, which follow months of negotiations, would bring new foreign investment into Venezuela's oilfields and power infrastructure. Most of the pacts involve the completion of a six-month migration of oil contracts to an amended hydrocarbon law that gives foreign companies greater flexibility to operate oilfields, export crude, and receive cash sale proceeds directly — a departure from the state-controlled model that governed Venezuela's oil industry for decades.oilprice+1

Chevron Seeks Major Expansion

Chevron's agreements are expected to be "of significant size," according to one of the sources. The U.S. major is seeking to add a block in the Orinoco Belt that would allow one of its joint ventures with state-run PDVSA to expand, and it also aims to negotiate an area in northern Monagas that could become a source of diluents needed for its extra-heavy crude output. ONGC is preparing to invest about $200 million in the San Cristobal field, where the Indian state producer is targeting a tenfold increase in production.oilprice+1

The list of companies lining up to sign has not been finalized, as executives are rushing to complete negotiations at the last minute, two sources said. Eni said it is working with its Venezuelan counterparties to "support the revitalization of the country's energy sector". Chevron, GE Vernova, ONGC, and GeoPark did not immediately reply to requests for comment.reuters+1

Separate From Broader U.S.-Venezuela Pact

The agreements are separate from a larger Caracas-Washington pact announced last week under which the United States would secure a stake in 17 oilfields holding roughly 64 billion barrels of proved reserves — about a fifth of Venezuela's total. President Donald Trump said the arrangement was secured "at no cost to the American Taxpayer" through a partnership with private business. Those 17 fields, located in the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo regions, are expected to eventually produce up to 1.5 million barrels per day, more than doubling Venezuela's current output of about 1.25 million bpd.irishsun+1

The new round of company-level agreements follows earlier deals signed in August by SLB ↗ 2.24% and Hunt Oil Company with PDVSA, which were among the first major contracts with Venezuela since the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro in January. Analysts have cautioned that political uncertainty, infrastructure gaps, and the legal framework around Venezuela's nationalized oil sector remain obstacles to attracting investment at scale.bpr+2