Chevron Doubles Down on Venezuelan Oil Investments

Chevron is expanding its operations in Venezuela, despite previous hesitation from other U.S. oil companies.

The Houston-based company will invest over $7 billion in a joint venture with Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA. The deal will expand Chevron's production to approximately 600,000 barrels of oil per day.

This comes after the U.S. and Venezuela struck an oil deal, giving the U.S. access to 65 billion barrels of oil in 17 Venezuelan fields. President Trump has encouraged American oil companies to invest in Venezuela's oil operations.

Chevron first established a presence in Venezuela in the 1920s, but left in 2007 after then-President Hugo Chávez renegotiated contracts with international companies. The company stayed even after Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1976.