Chevron, ENI, Geopark Among Companies Set to Sign Energy Pacts in Venezuela

As part of Venezuela's sweeping oil reform approved in January, several energy companies are set to sign agreements with the Venezuelan government. Among them are Chevron and ENI, along with Colombia's Geopark and investors KEO Capital and Primavera. These pacts imply project expansions that have been negotiated with PDVSA, Venezuela's state oil company.

According to sources close to the preparations, these companies will sign energy agreements as soon as Wednesday. This comes despite the recent Caracas-Washington deal granting the US access to 17 large oilfields in the country.

Venezuela's oil production has been struggling due to lack of investment and mismanagement, with output roughly one-third of its peak of 3 million barrels per day in the late 1990s. Despite this, US oil major Chevron plans to invest over $7 billion to more than double crude production in Venezuela to about 600,000 barrels per day over the next five years.

KEO Capital has also reached an agreement with PDVSA for the Petrourdaneta oil joint venture, turning the company into the project's operator and including a $350 million credit facility. ENI is seeking to expand its oil operations in Venezuela through a new area in the Orinoco Belt.