Chevron, America's second-largest oil producer, is preparing to deepen its footprint in Venezuela, a country most of its rivals abandoned two decades ago. The move comes as the US Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, landed in Caracas late on Tuesday, with a signing ceremony scheduled for Wednesday.
An unnamed US official told reporters that Chevron executives would appear alongside Wright to unveil fresh investment, marking the first corporate response to the agreement that cleared Venezuela's National Assembly. The deal, which hands Washington control over a fifth of the country's oil reserves, has been framed by the White House as a reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine.
Chevron is the only major American producer to have stayed in Venezuela since Hugo Chávez completed the nationalisation of the industry in 2007, a move that drove Exxon and ConocoPhillips out. The company's endurance now positions it to benefit from a deal that critics say raises more questions than it answers.
An agreement with fine print
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Spanish in an interview posted on Tuesday, described the arrangement in blunt terms. "Essentially, this is now an agreement with the US government, specifically involving the Defense Department, which holds a special account allowing it to take possession of a certain percentage of these assets," he said. Rubio added that American backing would help the company attract the private investment needed to develop the fields.
The "vast majority" of the 17 fields had been in Chinese and Russian hands, Rubio pointed out, as the White House also casts the deal as a geopolitical win. Those fields come with 100-year rights for North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) and hold an estimated 65 billion barrels. A new company will be created in which the US Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital takes a 35% stake, with the State Department entitled to buy 20% of output at production cost. US citizens must form a majority of the board, and Washington holds a veto over appointments.
Venezuelan lawmakers approved the agreement by a show of hands, though some opposition members abstained, saying they had not seen the terms. "We need and are obliged to know what is written in the fine print," said opposition lawmaker Luis Emilio Rondón. National Assembly chief Jorge Rodríguez countered: "Who benefits from this oil if it stays underground?"
NABEP is owned by Alejandro Betancourt, who has faced investigations over alleged money laundering in Spain and Switzerland without charges being filed, and has been accused of involvement in a corruption scheme at state producer PDVSA. An unnamed US official called him a "proven operator" while conceding that geopolitics sometimes means dealing with imperfect figures. "I'm not nominating anyone for sainthood here," the official said. "What I am telling you is that this is a person that, in the past, has been helpful to the United States government."
Analysts remain sceptical that output can be revived quickly, with estimates ranging from one to ten years before new barrels reach the market. Washington is not investing money in the venture, officials say, arguing its backing alone will attract the capital needed. US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that others would follow Chevron. "We have Exxon going in, we have Chevron going in. We have our big oil companies going in," Trump stated. However, Exxon's position appears unchanged, as a spokesman said on Tuesday that "nothing has changed" after CEO Darren Woods also called Venezuela "uninvestable" earlier this year.
For the US administration, the urgency is domestic. Trump met oil executives at the White House on Tuesday as petrol prices climbed because of new US strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, posting afterwards that "we are unleashing American Energy Dominance!" The deal's implications extend beyond the Americas, with potential ripple effects on global energy markets and European consumers already facing rising energy costs.
European observers are watching closely, given the continent's reliance on imported energy and its own efforts to diversify supplies. The agreement also raises questions about the future of US-Venezuela relations and the broader balance of power in Latin America, where European nations have historical ties and economic interests.
As the signing proceeds, the fine print remains a sticking point for many in Caracas. The deal's long-term viability is uncertain, but for now, Chevron's expansion signals a new chapter in a relationship that most of its peers deemed too risky. Whether that chapter brings stability or further controversy is a question that will unfold in the coming years.
