A private oil company has struck a deal with the Trump administration to develop 17 areas in Venezuela, an effort that experts say will take years and billions of dollars.
The U.S. energy giant, which stayed in the country after other Western companies left, will invest $7 billion in the country to more than double its production there.
Venezuela is believed to have one of the world’s largest reserves of oil but it produces very little oil because of mismanagement, corruption and U.S. sanctions.
The president said an agreement between the countries covered more than 65 billion barrels of reserves. A U.S. official said it would involve a partnership with a private company.
An oil refinery in Punto Fijo, Venezuela, in 2021. Venezuela’s president, Delcy Rodríguez, said a U.S. oil deal would have a “significant impact on our nation’s revival.”
Oil companies and governments are consuming their once vast stockpiles as Iran and the United States continue to struggle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.
A Chevron-chartered oil tanker was anchored near Maracaibo, Venezuela, in February. Chevron is the only U.S. oil company with a major footprint in the country.
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