Chevron Announces Venezuela Agreements With $7 Billion Investment Plan

Chevron (CVX ) announced agreements with Venezuela on September 2, 2026, that establish updated terms for its joint ventures in the country, assigning the company additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt and setting enhanced fiscal, commercial and legal terms that underpin joint venture plans to invest more than US$7 billion over the next five years.

The agreements cover Chevron’s joint ventures in Venezuela and include terms the company said are intended to support durable and competitive long-term investments, future project development and production growth. Chevron said the planned investment of more than US$7 billion over the next five years is expected to more than double joint venture production to approximately 600,000 barrels a day compared to 2026. The company put total costs in Venezuela at less than US$20 per barrel and described the country, citing its large resource base, as a platform of differentiated oil growth under its disciplined cash management model.

“Chevron’s history in Venezuela spans more than a century, and our expanded position reflects our confidence in the country’s deep resource potential and its ability to compete for investment within our portfolio for decades,” said Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chairman and chief executive officer. Wirth said the improved terms and additional acreage strengthen a portfolio the company believes can deliver attractive low-cost oil growth, support energy supply and create differentiated long-term value.

New Acreage in the Orinoco Belt

Under the agreements, the Petroindependencia, S.A. joint venture, in which a Chevron subsidiary holds a 49% interest, was assigned the rights to develop the adjacent Carabobo-1 and Carabobo-2-South-A areas located in the Orinoco Belt. The greenfield sites expand the joint venture’s existing operational footprint, where it is increasing extra-heavy oil production.

Chevron said its three Venezuelan joint ventures, Petroindependencia, Petropiar, S.A. and Petroboscan, S.A., have collectively grown production by 15% year-to-date. Petroindependencia and Petropiar operate extra-heavy oil projects in the Orinoco Oil Belt, while Petroboscan is located in Zulia State in western Venezuela. The company’s presence in Venezuela dates back to 1923, and it describes itself as one of the leading energy companies in the country.

April Asset Swap With PDVSA

The new acreage assignments follow an April 13, 2026, asset swap agreement between Chevron subsidiaries and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) and PDVSA subsidiaries. Under that agreement, Chevron received an additional 13.21% working interest in Petroindependencia, increasing its total stake to 49%, and Petropiar, in which a Chevron subsidiary holds a 30% interest, was assigned the rights to develop the adjacent Ayacucho 8 area in the Orinoco Oil Belt.

In exchange, Venezuela received the Chevron subsidiaries’ 60% and 100% operated interests in the offshore Plataforma Deltana Block 2 and Block 3 gas licenses, respectively, along with a 25.2% non-operated interest in the Petroindependiente, S.A. joint venture in western Venezuela. Javier La Rosa, president of Chevron Base Assets and Emerging Countries, said at the time that the swap expanded Chevron’s heavy oil position in two key joint ventures and that Ayacucho 8 is a producing asset in close proximity to Petropiar, which enhances development efficiencies.

Wirth also credited the U.S. government for its role in the latest agreements. “We appreciate the leadership of the Administration, particularly the U.S. Department of Energy, and Secretary Wright’s partnership in helping facilitate the conditions for further investment and growth,” he said, adding that continued engagement between government and industry is essential to advancing projects that support energy security, economic growth and continued investment.

On August 31, 2026, the White House said in a fact sheet that Venezuela’s new hydrocarbons law, adopted with U.S. support, provides for the modernization, privatization and development of the country’s oil sector. The fact sheet described a separate arrangement under which Venezuelan interim authorities granted North American Blue Energy Partners, a privately held oil company, 100-year concessions for 17 oil fields with proven reserves of approximately 65 billion barrels.

In its announcement, Chevron characterized the investment and production plans as forward-looking statements based on management’s current expectations, estimates and projections. The company said actual outcomes could differ materially, citing risks that include changing economic, regulatory and political environments in the countries where it operates, including Venezuela, as well as potential sanctions, changes in fiscal terms and the inability or failure of joint-venture partners to fund their share of operations and development activities.