Chevron Doubles Down on Venezuela with $7 Billion Investment

Chevron is expanding its operations in Venezuela, a move that comes after the U.S. and Venezuela struck an oil deal last week.

The Houston-based company will invest over $7 billion over the next five years as part of a joint venture to expand its production capacity in the Orinoco Belt, where most of Venezuela's oil reserves lie.

Chevron is the largest foreign oil operator in Venezuela and has maintained a presence there since the 1920s. Despite previous hesitation from other U.S. oil companies, Chevron's CEO Mike Wirth expressed confidence in Venezuela's deep resource potential and its ability to compete for investment within their portfolio for decades.

The expansion comes as President Trump encouraged American oil companies to invest in Venezuela's oil operations, with a new deal announced last week allowing the U.S. access to 65 billion barrels of oil from 17 Venezuelan fields.