chevron on Wednesday laid out plans to more than double Venezuela’s oil production over the next five years through a $7 billion investment that will expand its presence in the South American country.
The oil major has been assigned two more fields in the Orinoco Belt, the region that contains most of Venezuela’s vast reserves of extra-heavy crude oil. Chevron plans to increase domestic production from about 280,000 barrels per day now to 600,000 barrels per day by 2031.
Chevron is the only US oil major operating in Venezuela through a joint venture with state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA). CEO Mike Wirth told CNBC that Venezuela has become a more attractive country for investment since the interim government passed a new hydrocarbon law that changed taxes, royalties and other conditions.
The changes have taken it from “not being very competitive in the set of options to being very competitive compared to the options around the world. That’s why we’re investing a lot of capital and we’re going to continue to grow,” Wirth told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in Caracas.
Chevron’s announcement comes as the U.S. government pushes to increase Venezuela’s oil production through private investment. The country’s oil infrastructure is in a state of disrepair due to years of mismanagement by the socialist government.
President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States has secured majority control of Venezuela’s 65 billion barrels of oil reserves. This is about 20% of the 303 billion barrels the country is thought to hold. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is visiting Venezuela on Wednesday.
The Washington government is partnering with the private oil company North American Blue Energy Partners to develop these reserves. The interim government of Venezuela granted NABEP a 100-year concession to 17 oil fields. Meanwhile, NABEP granted a 35% stake to the US Department of Defense.
The United States captured former President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid in January and seized control of Venezuela’s oil exports. Washington partnered with interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who served as vice president under Maduro.
Chevron stock was little changed Wednesday after rising 13% over the past three months and 39% in 2026.
