Venezuela’s new petroleum minister has urged American energy companies to pursue the Venezuela oil investment drive, telling a Houston audience the country holds more than 916 exploration opportunities across oil, gas and untapped basins still awaiting foreign capital.
Paula Henao, who took over as hydrocarbons minister in March following the forced removal of former leader Nicolás Maduro, addressed a packed event at the Post Oak Hotel in Houston on Wednesday.
Speaking in Spanish, Henao cited estimated natural gas reserves of 192 trillion cubic feet, alongside world-leading proven oil reserves of more than 300 billion barrels. ‘It’s an entire world waiting to be discovered, just waiting for us to reach these agreements so we can develop these new areas,’ she said.
Hunt Oil and SLB sign ahead of Venezuela Energy Week
The Houston showcase preceded a larger Venezuela Energy Week planned for February in Caracas. A day before the event, Venezuela signed new oil production agreements with Dallas-based Hunt Oil and oilfield services firm Hunt Oil. Hunt chief executive Hunter Hunt said the company was ‘proud to be one of the first American companies to sign an agreement with PDVSA to help expand Venezuela’s oil and gas production.’
Major U.S. energy firms are largely taking a cautious stance, despite the Venezuela oil investment drive gathering pace. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said U.S. oil companies will spend more than $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s failing infrastructure, but most large producers are in a wait-and-see position. Chevron, which never left the country, is the principal driver of a recent output rise from just under 1 million barrels per day to more than 1.2 million barrels daily.
BP and Shell plan to invest in offshore Venezuelan gas fields near Trinidad and Tobago. Otherwise, smaller private U.S. producers are moving first.
Crossover Energy bets on Venezuela over U.S. shale
Denver-based Crossover Energy is among those expecting to formalise new productive participation contracts within ‘a few days or a few weeks,’ chief executive Eric McCrady told Fortune at the Houston event. Crossover has already acquired a local Venezuelan operator to build an on-the-ground workforce and plans to begin operating wells in January, delayed by earthquakes that struck the country in June.
‘I think the risks here are more above-ground (the labour force, equipment availability, the political situation) versus below-ground geologic risk,’ McCrady said. ‘We’re comfortable taking risks.’
McCrady believes Venezuela can reach 3.5 million barrels a day within five to 10 years, drawing comparisons to the rapid growth of West Texas’ Permian Basin. Rystad Energy partner Simon Sjøthun is more cautious, projecting Venezuela could again exceed 3 million barrels daily by 2040 as global oil demand remains high for decades.
Venezuela’s oil industry last produced more than 3 million barrels daily at the start of this century and was still above 2 million barrels a day a decade ago.
Crossover’s contracts with PDVSA are expected to be signed within days, with Venezuelan well operations targeting a January start.
