Continental Resources Seals Deal with PDVSA for Ayacucho 2 Block
Continental Resources has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA to operate and develop the Ayacucho 2 Block in the Orinoco Belt. The block is estimated to hold 30 billion barrels of resource across roughly 126,000 acres in Anzoátegui state.
The agreement follows a flurry of deals between American energy companies and Venezuela's oil industry, with Chevron committing over $7 billion to double its own Orinoco Belt output to 600,000 barrels per day. The Trump administration has called for US energy companies to help rebuild Venezuela's oil industry, which has seen production decline by 70% since 2013.
Ayacucho 2 is Continental's first venture into Venezuela, and the company's CEO Doug Lawler described it as 'one of the most significant resource opportunities in Continental's nearly 60-year history.' The deal is expected to advance a long-term Contrato de Participación Productiva agreement in the coming weeks.