Chevron will invest more than $7 billion to roughly double its Venezuelan production to about 600,000 barrels a day after winning new Orinoco Belt acreage under revised terms with Caracas.
Chevron said it will expand its operations in Venezuela under revised terms with the country's government, committing more than $7 billion over five years to roughly double production at its joint ventures there.
The company, the only U.S. oil major with a significant operating presence in Venezuela, said it has been assigned additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt, home to the world's largest extra-heavy crude deposits. The move follows the broader U.S.-Venezuela framework that President Donald Trump announced on August 28 and that includes a profit stake for the Pentagon.
Chevron's updated agreement introduces more favorable tax, commercial and legal conditions intended to support long-term investment. The company said its three Venezuelan joint ventures aim to lift output beyond double current levels to roughly 600,000 barrels per day over the next five years, with per-barrel costs projected to stay under $20 given the size of Venezuela's reserves.
"Chevron's history in Venezuela spans more than a century, and our expanded position reflects our confidence in the country's deep resource potential," chairman and chief executive Mike Wirth said in a statement. He added that the improved conditions and added territory let the company bolster assets expected to deliver low-cost oil growth, support energy availability and generate sustained shareholder value.
As part of the arrangement, Petroindependencia — a venture in which a Chevron affiliate holds a 49 percent stake — has secured development rights for the adjacent Carabobo-1 and Carabobo-2-South-A blocks in the Orinoco Belt. Those undeveloped areas will broaden the venture's footprint as it steps up extra-heavy crude output. The new accord builds on an April deal that raised Chevron's working interest in Petroindependencia to 49 percent and gave it access to the neighboring Ayacucho 8 block. Across its Venezuelan partnerships, Chevron said production has climbed 15 percent so far this year.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright attended a signing ceremony in Caracas at which Chevron, Italian company Eni and other firms concluded agreements with the Venezuelan government. Wright called the deals "tens of billions of dollars of investment" that would create jobs and advance peace and prosperity in Venezuela, and he described the broader arrangement as a "massive win" for both countries.
Wirth credited the U.S. administration — singling out the Department of Energy and Secretary Wright — for helping create conditions conducive to investment. He stressed that continued dialogue between government and business remains essential to advancing initiatives tied to energy security and capital flows.
The expansion has drawn skepticism from energy analysts and legal scholars. Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves, more than 303 billion barrels per OPEC's 2025 statistical bulletin, but its industry is degraded after years of underinvestment and operates under international sanctions. Analysts have warned that restoring the sector will require years of work and tens of billions of dollars.
There are also questions about whether acting President Delcy Rodríguez has the authority to grant long-term rights over oil fields and whether a future Venezuelan or American administration would honor the agreements. Ian Vásquez, vice president for international studies at the Cato Institute, has argued the deal "lacks legitimacy" because it was reached with an administration he described as authoritarian and without approval by the National Assembly, which held no debate or vote. The ruling-party-controlled assembly expressed support in a Tuesday session.
Other U.S. oil majors remain cautious. Exxon Mobil chief executive Darren Woods called Venezuela "uninvestable" in January, and an Exxon spokesman said this week that "nothing has changed."