Venezuela: Chevron secures new oil fields; production set to double

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The US oil group Chevron has announced that it has secured new oil fields in the Orinoco mining region of Venezuela and expects to more than double production in the country from its vast oil reserves compared with 2026 levels. According to a press release, Petroindependencia, in which Chevron holds a 49 per cent stake, intends to invest over 7 billion dollars over the next five years to produce around 600,000 barrels of oil per day.

Chevron has stated that it has reached agreements with the Venezuelan authorities regarding the three joint ventures in which the group is involved in the country, all of which operate in the oil production sector. These agreements will “support future investment, project development and production growth”, the US group emphasised in a statement. The aim is to make “competitive long-term investments”.

“Chevron’s history in Venezuela,” commented Chevron’s chief executive, Mike Wirth, quoted in the press release, “dates back more than a century, and the expansion of our positions demonstrates our confidence in the enormous potential of the country’s resources and in its ability to attract investment into our portfolio for decades to come.”

At the end of May, Wirth had forecast a 50 per cent increase in his group’s production in Venezuela by the end of 2028. In January, Chevron’s average annual production in the country stood at 240,000 barrels a day. By July, this had risen to around 270,000 barrels per day. Chevron stated in its press release that, since the start of the year, it had recorded a 15 per cent increase when combining the volumes from its three joint ventures.