Venezuela's Rodríguez Projects Nearly $76 Billion in Oil Investment Over Five Years After 61 Agreements Signed

Since Nicolás Maduro's ouster in January, Venezuela has been reopening its energy sector to foreign investors with the backing of the Trump administration. On Saturday, Oct. 17, the country's acting president put a price tag on that effort.

Delcy Rodríguez said Venezuela expects almost $76 billion in oil and gas investment over the next five years. She made the remarks on national television, at the close of an energy conference in Maracaibo, the capital of oil-producing Zulia state. More than 150 domestic and international companies attended, according to Bloomberg.

"Major investments are coming," Rodríguez said. "We are talking about investment of almost $76 billion over five years. Those investments will translate into direct benefits for our country in a win-win partnership, because our partner will also benefit."

That works out to roughly $15 billion a year.

What was signed

Rodríguez said the investment expectation rests on a package of 61 agreements signed by the parties. One of them is a bilateral accord with the United States that covers 17 oilfields and includes plans to drill 250 rigs, as she described it.

She did not say, in the remarks reported, which companies are behind the money. The $76 billion is her government's expectation, not a figure confirmed by any investor or by Washington.

Venezuela holds the world's largest proven crude reserves. It produces far less than it did a decade ago. The country's oil sector has suffered from years of underinvestment, operational problems at the state oil company PDVSA, and U.S. sanctions on the energy industry.

The Zulia numbers

Rodríguez also pointed to a production recovery in Zulia, the western state where the conference was held. Output there rose from 70,000 barrels per day to 370,000, she said. She expects it to reach 400,000 barrels per day by the end of this year.

She did not say over what period the jump from 70,000 to 370,000 occurred. The timeframe is important, since a fivefold increase over a few months and a fivefold increase over several years describe very different recoveries.

The additional 30,000 barrels a day she is targeting by year-end would be about an 8% gain on the current figure she cited. The year-end target is less than 11 weeks away.

The politics behind the deals

The investment push is moving in parallel with the legal case against the man it replaced. Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, 70, appeared in a U.S. court this week as they prepared to respond to an expanded indictment. Prosecutors allege they conspired to torture political opponents. Both had earlier pleaded not guilty to abuse allegations, and the new charges broaden the criminal case against them.

The Trump administration has backed Venezuela's opening to overseas investors since Maduro's removal. The signed U.S. accord puts American interests directly into the country's fields.

The economic logic for Caracas is plain. Years of sanctions and mismanagement left reserves in the ground and production well below past levels. Private capital and drilling equipment are what the sector lacks, and the acting government is courting both.

For Washington, the logic runs the other way as well. Rodríguez herself said the partner "will also benefit."

What to watch

The $76 billion is a five-year projection, and it comes from the government seeking the investment. Signed agreements are not spent capital. Rigs have to arrive, fields have to be worked, and PDVSA's operational problems have to be solved for any of it to show up in barrels.

The nearest checkpoint is the one Rodríguez set herself: Zulia output at 400,000 barrels per day by the end of 2026. Whether the 61 agreements translate into drilling on that timeline is the first measurable answer to whether the projected $76 billion is real.