Oil giant Chevron confirms it will expand operations in Venezuela after Trump announces deal
NEW YORK — Oil giant Chevron confirmed that it will expand operations in Venezuela after President Donald Trump announced an ambitious deal to develop the nation’s oil reserves and give the Pentagon a stake in the profits.Chevron, the only US oil company with a major presence in Venezuela, said Wednesday that it has been assigned additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt, where it has active operations.The company plans to invest more than $7 billion over the next five years, with the goal of more than doubling its current production to about 600,000 barrels a day.“Chevron’s history in Venezuela spans more than a century, and our expanded position reflects our confidence in the country’s deep resource potential,” CEO Mike Wirth said in a prepared statement.Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven reserves, totaling more than 303 billion barrels of crude oil, according to OPEC’s 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin.
Saudi Arabia is a distant second with 267 billion barrels.Yet because Venezuela’s energy infrastructure is severely degraded and the nation is operating under international sanctions, its daily production is just over one million barrels, compared with the 10 million to 11 million barrels that Saudi Arabia produces each day.The US produces almost 14 million barrels per day.Chevron, the second-largest US oil company, has had a presence in Venezuela since 1923.The White House confirmed Monday that it is partnering with North American Blue Energy Partners as part of Trump’s push to tap into Venezuela’s oil industry.“What we’re doing is increasing the confidence for private businesses to come do deals in Venezuela, directly with the government of Venezuela,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said during an interview Wednesday on CNBC.Yet the agreement has been met with skepticism from energy experts who say it will take years to revive Venezuela’s oil industry, which is in disarray after years of neglect.There are also questions ...