Chevron Doubles Down on Venezuelan Oil Investments

Chevron, the second-largest US oil company, has announced plans to invest $7 billion in Venezuela over the next five years. The investment aims to double the company's oil production in the country, reaching a capacity of about 600,000 barrels per day. This move comes after President Trump announced a deal on August 28 to create a private joint venture with Venezuela to operate oil fields containing 65 billion barrels of petroleum.

The additional acreage assigned to Chevron will allow it to develop the adjacent Carabobo 1 and Carabobo-2-South-A areas in the Orinoco Belt. Chevron officials, along with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, are expected to visit Venezuela on Wednesday to formally unveil the new investment.

Chevron has been operating in Venezuela since 1923, and its joint ventures Petroindependencia and Petropiar S.A. oversee extra-heavy oil projects in the Orinoco Oil Belt. However, experts warn that it could take years for the deal to yield meaningful results due to the country's neglected oil infrastructure.

According to OPEC's 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin, Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves, containing more than 303 billion barrels of crude oil. The deal is expected to help lower US gasoline prices and refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which has dropped to historically low levels.