Chevron Nears Deal for Two More Venezuelan Oil Fields as Washington Negotiates Its Own Stake in 17 Fields

Chevron is negotiating to add two more heavy-oil fields to its Venezuela portfolio, according to people familiar with the talks cited by Bloomberg and reported by TTNews. Halliburton is also in discussions to bring oilfield equipment into the country. Neither company has confirmed the details publicly, and Chevron declined to comment.

But government-to-government negotiations are unfolding separately and on a larger scale.

What's actually new this week

Venezuela's oil minister, Paula Henao, and top officials from state oil company PDVSA traveled to Houston for an energy conference, according to NPR. While there, two U.S. firms signed contracts that hadn't existed in nearly two decades: Dallas-based Hunt Oil signed a production agreement to expand Venezuela's oil and gas output, and Houston-based oilfield services giant SLB, formerly Schlumberger, signed a separate exploration and services pact.

NPR reports these are among the first major agreements between U.S. oil companies and Venezuela since Caracas nationalized foreign oil assets in 2007, the same wave of expropriation that pushed ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips out of the country entirely. Dollar figures on the Hunt Oil and SLB deals haven't been made public.

James Chester, CEO of Energy Capital & Power, which organized the Houston conference, told NPR the fact that Venezuelan officials came to Texas rather than waiting for companies to visit Caracas is itself significant. Francisco Monaldi, director of Rice University's Latin America Energy Program, told NPR the deals could "open up a new wave of investment," though he noted Venezuela needs the money urgently. The country is still working to rebuild after an earthquake killed thousands of people in June, per NPR's reporting.

The bigger deal Washington is negotiating directly

Separately from the corporate agreements, Al Jazeera reports, citing Reuters sources, that the Trump administration is negotiating a deal that would let the U.S. government secure long-term access to a group of Venezuelan oilfields, to be developed by American companies with output guaranteed for U.S. supply. One source told Reuters "this is real and being discussed at the highest levels of the US and Venezuelan governments." A lease structure is reportedly under consideration, followed by an auction or tender to divide fields among U.S. producers.

A list of 17 fields under negotiation, seen by Reuters, spans the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo, including some areas currently operated by a small Chinese firm under a contract signed during Maduro's presidency. Venezuela's current hydrocarbons law doesn't provide for acreage leases, and its constitution reserves core industry activity to the state, according to Al Jazeera. The legal mechanism for any U.S. government lease remains unsettled. The White House referred Al Jazeera's questions to the Department of Energy. PDVSA, Venezuela's oil ministry, and the Energy Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Henao could not be reached.

Chevron's head start, and who's staying out

Chevron has been the only major U.S. oil company with continuous operations in Venezuela since the Chávez-era nationalizations, according to TTNews, and currently accounts for roughly a fifth of the country's oil production. In April 2026, Chevron executed an asset swap with PDVSA that raised its Petroindependencia joint-venture stake from 35.79% to 49% and secured development rights to the Ayacucho 8 block in the Orinoco Belt, giving up offshore gas interests in the process, according to Crypto Briefing. Chevron's Venezuelan ventures currently produce around 260,000 barrels per day and are targeting up to 375,000 bpd, a roughly 50% increase.

ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, both burned by Chávez-era nationalization of their assets, are sitting this round out, per Crypto Briefing. Venezuela's oil-sector infrastructure remains degraded, its political and legal framework is still in flux, and foreign-investor protections, while improved, aren't airtight. Companies betting on Venezuela now are betting that a fragile opening under the current Maduro government holds.

OPEC's Venezuela problem

Bloomberg reported Thursday that Venezuela is examining plans to leave OPEC, according to 24/7 Wall St. Venezuela produced about 1.16 million barrels a day in July, per Bloomberg's figures cited by 24/7 Wall St., less than half its output a decade ago and already outside OPEC's production quotas. An exit wouldn't unleash new barrels overnight. The longer-term risk, 24/7 Wall St. notes, is to OPEC's credibility as a cartel, potentially encouraging other members to chase market share over coordinated output limits, similar to the 2020 price war.

No final decision on OPEC has been announced by Venezuela's government. No dollar value has been disclosed for the Hunt Oil or SLB contracts, and no U.S.-Venezuela government lease agreement has been signed. Reuters' sources say one could be finalized and made public soon. Whether a lease structure survives Venezuela's own constitutional restrictions on state control of the oil sector remains unresolved.