The spanish oil company Repsol was represented by Gonzalo Antonio Carrillo Recalde and Francisco Gea Pascual de Riquelme, Director of Exploration and Production. The meeting took place amid a new wave of investment in Venezuela’s energy sector following the partial easing of sanctions by the United States. Companies such as Chevron, Shell and Eni are advancing agreements to expand oil and gas production in the country, in a context of high crude prices and tensions in the Middle East. Photograph: Telegram channel / Delcy Rodríguez.
Guacamaya, March 13, 2026. Following the partial easing of U.S. energy sanctions and the political reconfiguration that took place in January, Venezuela is beginning to receive a new wave of international investment in its hydrocarbons sector. Companies such as Chevron, Shell, Repsol and Eni are advancing agreements to expand oil and gas production in the country, while the global energy market tightens amid the crisis in the Middle East and crude prices rising above $100 per barrel.
1. Chevron: expansion in the Orinoco belt and the return of exports
U.S. major Chevron is emerging as the main foreign player in the recovery of Venezuelan oil production. The company is negotiating with Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. to expand the Petropiar project in the Orinoco Oil Belt, specifically into the Ayacucho 8 block, an area with significant extra-heavy crude reserves.
The development would extend the well-cluster production system already operating in Petropiar, enabling a relatively rapid increase in output. The project currently produces around 90,000 barrels per day of upgraded Hamaca crude, in addition to about 20,000 barrels per day of vacuum gasoil, according to internal PDVSA documents.
At the same time, Chevron has resumed exports of diluted crude oil (DCO). A recent cargo of 500,000 barrels was shipped to the U.S. Gulf Coast, a type of crude particularly sought after by refineries in the United States and India. The resumption of these flows could help reduce accumulated inventories in the Orinoco Belt, which reached 4.8 million barrels by the end of February.
2. Shell bets on light Oil and gas in Monagas
The British company Shell has signed preliminary agreements with the Venezuelan government to develop fields in the Monagas North region, particularly Carito and Pirital, areas rich in light crude and natural gas.
These fields are part of the Punta de Mata oil complex, which produces around 94,000 barrels of oil per day and more than 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day. A significant portion of this gas is currently flared, which opens the door for Shell to build infrastructure to capture and process it.
The company also seeks to integrate these projects into its broader regional gas strategy, including potential exports through Trinidad and Tobago.
3. Repsol and Eni: Venezuela aims to become a Gas exporter
The gas sector is also seeing major developments. Repsol and Eni have signed strategic agreements to expand production at the Cardón IV field, one of the largest gas developments in Latin America.
The project currently produces about 580 million cubic feet of gas per day, much of it destined for Venezuela’s electricity system. The new agreement seeks to increase production and open the door to regional gas exports.
The two European companies also hold more than $7 billion in accumulated credits with Venezuela, stemming from the years when sanctions prevented them from exporting hydrocarbons.
4. Repsol plans to triple Its production in Venezuela
In its 2026–2028 strategic plan, Repsol announced that Venezuela has become a key tactical asset within its upstream portfolio.
- The company plans to:
- Increase production by 50% in 2026
- Triple output by 2028, reaching approximately 213,000 barrels per day
- Invest more than €1 billion in the country
- These investments are part of a global plan valued at €8.5–10 billion, mainly directed toward production projects in the United States and Venezuela.
5. New intermediaries and exports to Asia: China returns to the map
As Venezuela’s oil trading system is reorganized, new actors are also entering the scene.
The company North American Blue Energy Partners, linked to U.S. energy magnate Harry Sargeant III, loaded around 950,000 barrels of Merey 16 crude destined for the port of Qingdao in China.
This shipment could become the first Venezuelan oil delivery to China since the United States assumed control of Venezuelan crude sales earlier this year.
The cargo comes amid major tensions in the global oil market, with prices nearing $100 per barrel due to the war involving Iran and several regional actors.
6. Regional energy integration: The reactivation of the gas pipeline with Colombia
The new phase of Venezuela’s energy sector is also beginning to project beyond its borders. Caracas and Bogotá have agreed to move forward with the repair and reactivation of the binational Antonio Ricaurte gas pipeline, a strategic infrastructure that remained inactive for years and could once again turn Venezuela into a regional supplier of natural gas.
The pipeline, which connects gas fields in western Venezuela with the department of La Guajira in Colombia, is approximately 225 kilometers long and has a transport capacity of up to 500 million cubic feet of gas per day. Its reactivation could initially allow Colombia to import around 150 million cubic feet per day, helping meet the country’s growing energy demand.
Energy authorities from both governments have begun technical working groups to assess the condition of the infrastructure and define the necessary repairs. The project involves engineers from Colombia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy and Venezuela’s Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., with the goal of restoring operations after years of deterioration and lack of maintenance.
For Colombia, the project carries strategic value. Venezuelan gas could provide a cheaper alternative to liquefied natural gas imported by ship, while strengthening energy security for households, industry and electricity generation.
For Venezuela, the pipeline’s reactivation represents a first step toward rebuilding its gas export capacity and gradually reintegrating into the regional energy market, alongside new oil and gas investment projects involving companies such as Chevron, Shell, Repsol and Eni.
If technical work proceeds as planned, the pipeline could become one of the first concrete projects of South American energy cooperation in the new phase of recovery of Venezuela’s hydrocarbons sector.
7. A sector that could generate tens of thousands of jobs
The industry’s revival also carries significant labor implications. According to estimates from the Venezuelan Association of Small and Medium-Sized Oil Industry Companies, an increase of 100,000 barrels per day in production would require around 25,000 additional workers directly.
Oil service companies such as Baker Hughes, KBR and the Venezuelan engineering firm Vepica are already participating in some of the new projects under negotiation.
Outlook
The combination of high oil prices, the partial easing of sanctions and domestic legal reforms has revived international interest in the world’s largest crude reserves. If the agreements currently under negotiation materialize, Venezuela could enter a new phase of reconstruction of its energy industry, with investments expected to reach billions of dollars in the coming years.
