Venezuela's Oil Sector Sees Major Gains with Hunt Oil and SLB Deals

Venezuela's oil sector has reached an operational milestone seven months after President Nicolás Maduro was removed from power. Dallas-based Hunt Oil Company signed a production participation contract covering two onshore fields in eastern Venezuela, and oilfield services giant SLB signed a framework agreement to conduct integrated reservoir studies across the country.

The deals mark a significant step in Venezuela's oil recovery, which has moved from political announcements to engineering operations. The contracts are structurally different, with Hunt Oil bearing the costs of development and enhancement in exchange for a share of production output, while SLB's agreement is a technical prerequisite for future drilling commitments.

Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit confirmed that over 500,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan crude are now flowing to US refineries, quadrupling the figure from the end of 2025. Venezuela's Orinoco Belt crude requires dilution with naphtha before it can be pumped through pipelines, and the US is currently sending over 100,000 barrels per day of naphtha south to meet this need.

Reactivating idle drilling rigs will be crucial for sustained production growth. SLB plans to reactivate as many as 15 drilling rigs already inside Venezuela, which could support a 48% jump in crude production by year-end. Private equity firm Formentera Partners is also working to import additional rigs.