Chevron's Venezuela Bet Deepens Amid Record Quarter

Chevron is making significant moves in Venezuela after years of treating it as a country to collect debts from, rather than invest in. The company's CFO Eimear Bonner reported that Chevron expects to fully recover the debt owed by the end of 2027. Once this is achieved, the focus will shift to whether investing more in Venezuela is worthwhile.

Bonner stated that the three existing joint ventures have increased production from 40,000 barrels per day a few years ago to 250,000, and then an additional 15% over six months to 280,000. She guided to 'up to 50% between now and the end of 2028,' funded entirely by cash flow from existing Venezuelan operations.

Chevron's CEO Mike Wirth framed Venezuela as one of several 'special situations that we have some control over' alongside Iraq, where follow-on agreements 'significantly advanced the commercial discussions' at West Qurna 2. Bonner set the discipline line: any Venezuela terms, she said, 'have to be competitive, and they have to compete in our portfolio for capital.'

Chevron's Venezuelan business runs on U.S. Treasury licenses that can be widened or revoked as Washington's posture shifts, and the two new fields remain a reported negotiation.