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2025
No significant news in 2025.
2024
Aug 2024: The government has awarded BP (operator, 80&) and the National Gas Company of Trinidad (NGC, 20%) a license for the development of the Cocuina field. Cocuina is part of the Manakin-Cocuina field that overlaps Trinidad waters where it is operated by BP. Cocuina was discovered in 1983 in Block 4 of the Plataforma Deltana and confirmed in 2006.
Apr 2024: The USA has re-imposed sanctions citing lack of progress in meeting election-reform commitments. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) gave companies until May 31 to wind down previously authorized oil operations. The country produced 742,000 bbls of oil per day in 2023, 70% less than in 2013.
Mar 2024: Chevron has restarted drilling (30 new wells through 2025) at its heavy crude area at the Petroindependencia area of the Orinoco Belt, hoping to increase total production by 35% to 250,000 bbls per day as the other two oil fields operated by the company decline.
2023
Dec 2023: Repsol SA signed a contract for a venture in the oil fields of Petroquiriquire Occidente and Oriente. Repsol is the 3rd company to re-invest after Chevron Corp and Maurel & Prom.
Oct 2023: The US Treasury Department announced it will temporarily suspend sanctions on exports of oil and investments in the country’s oil and gas sector. The Maduro administration and united opposition parties must agree on reforms to allow fair elections in 2024.
Jul 2023: Venezuela expects to sign licenses by year-end for developing its gas reserves most of which remain undeveloped.
Feb 2023: Trinidad and Tobago expects to begin negotiations in March on the Dragon offshore gas project on the Venezuelan side of the maritime border to supply gas to Trinidad's LNG and petrochemical industry. A partnership would include PDVSA and Shell. Venezuela has been under US oil sanctions since 2019.
2022
Nov 2022: A potential agreement between the government and opposition offers hope for resumption of energy investment. US sanctions were tightened in 2019 but it has partially lifted these on oil produced by Chevron. Plans could also be revived to produce gas from offshore fields, including Dragon, and transport it to nearby fields in Trinidad for Atlantic LNG.
2021
Jul 2021: Equinor and PdVSA have completed a transaction whereby Equinor will transfer its 9.67% non-operated interest in the Petrocedeño project to Corporación Venezolana del Petróleo (CVP), owned by PdVSA. The project aims to upgrade extra-heavy crude oil into lighter crude from the Orinoco Belt. TotalEnergies will also transfer its interest to PdVSA.
2020
Aug 2020: Oil production in Venezuela reached its lowest level in decades at 392,000 bbls per day in July and is still falling. A lack of investment, political turmoil and US economic sanctions have all curtailed production. Recovery will take a long time due to dilapidated infrastructure even if conditions improve.
May 2020: Chevron has no plans to wind down operations. Assets were ‘mothballed’ after the U.S. Treasury Department imposed restrictions to prevent money going to the socialist government. It is not required to leave the country where it is a partner in two ventures and not an operator.
2019
Feb 2019: US sanctions on oil production and on PDVSA have led to falling production in the country. US refiners have been replacing heavy crude from Venezuela with other sources. Sanctions will try to eliminate US imports which were at an average of 498,000 bbls per day in 2018.
2018
Aug 2018: Venezuela has finally signed a deal with Trinidad whereby it will sell 1.5bcm of gas a year gas from the Dragon Field for conversion to LNG.
2017
No significant news in 2017.
2016
Dec 2016: Venezuela will cut 95,000 bbls of oil per day from its production in fulfilment of OPEC’s deal to strengthen prices. Venezuela currently produces just over 2.4 mm bbls of oil and condensate (GS notes: Venezuela is struggling to maintain output outside the extra-heavy oil of the Orinoco Belt so most of this reduction will probably be through natural decline).
Dec 2016: Venezuela will export gas from the Dragon field to Trinidad. An agreement includes the construction of gas pipelines from the Mariscal Sucre area to the Hibiscus platform or to Point Lisas in Trinidad. The field is part of the Mariscal Sucre Project which includes 4 fields (Dragon, Patao, Mejillones and Río Caribe) off the Paria Peninsula in around 120m of water.
Aug 2016: PDVSA and Eni are discussing the infrastructure needed to produce more gas and condensate from the Cardon IV block in the Gulf of Venezuela. The block contains the giant Perla field from which Eni and Repsol started producing Phase 1 in July 2015. The field will be developed in 3 phases with an ultimate goal of 12 bcm of gas per year and 38,000 bbls of condensate per day.
Feb 2016: Rosneft and PDVSA have signed a Heads of Agreement to establish a joint venture for implementation of the production, treatment and sale of gas from the offshore fields; Patao, Mejillones and Rio Caribe. Production is expected to be up to 9 bcm each year.
2015
Nov 2015: In the midst of the country’s economic crisis PDVSA has been adding rigs to search for new oil supplies even as it urges OPEC to cut output. It is trying to boost production from the Orinoco heavy oil belt to mix with imported lighter grades for domestic use whilst maintaining net exports. However its overall production is still falling.
Jul 2015: The Perla gas field in the Gulf of Venezuela, Cardon IV Block, and operated by Cardon IV (Eni and Repsol) has come onstream. Perla is the first gas field in production off Venezuela and may hold 480 bcm of gas . Development is in 3 phases with 4 platforms linked to a CPF at Punto Fijo on the Paraguana Peninsula. A total of 21 producer wells are planned by 2021.
Apr 2015: Cardon IV has contracted Seaway for installation of production platforms for the Perla gas project in 70m of water including tie-in of subsea infrastructure. Perla will have 3 platforms connected by pipeline to the shore at Punto Fijo. Cardon IV is a JOC owned by Eni (50%) and Repsol (50%). PDVSA will have 35% back-in included in the Rafael Urdaneta gas project.
2014
May 2014: PDVSA plans to begin its first shale gas exploration campaign in western Lake Maracaibo with Petrobras. The Petrowayu joint venture is to run the project, shared by PDVSA (60%), Petrobras (36%) and Williams (4%). PDVSA is also exploring for shale gas at La Guajira in western Zulia state.
Mar 2014: Eni and Repsol will start early production at the Perla offshore gas project in the Gulf of Venezuela at the end of 2014. After finding more than 425 bcm of gas, the group’s Perla project will reduce reliance on other fuels that have been used since 2010 to generate electricity.
2013
Sep 2013: Venezuela and Trinidad said that PDVSA will work with Chevron to develop the Loran-Manatee field offshore gas field, the largest of 3 that span the offshore border. The Loran-Manatee field has reserves of around 285 bcm of which 73.75% belongs to Venezuela. Venezuela was also allocated 64% of the Cocuina Manakin field and 16% of the Dorado-Kapot field. A pipeline to the Paria Peninsula is planned to link with the delayed Mariscal Sucre project.
Sep 2013: Petronas is exiting the Petrocarabobo project in the Orinoco belt which has planned investment of US$20 bn over 25 years, including a 200,000 bbl per day upgrader. The venture was formed in 2010 by PDVSA (60%) and a consortium of Petronas, Repsol, ONGC and two small Indian firms. The Petrocarabobo project started production in late 2012 and will have a capacity of 400,000 bbls per day.
Aug 2013: Foster Wheeler is to project manage Eni and Repsol's US$1.4 bn development of the Perla gas field in the Gulf of Venezuela. First gas is planned for the end of 2014. Discovered in 2009, the field may contain 400 bcm of gas and 170 mm bbls of condensate.
Jun 2013: YPF will join Venezuela's offshore Deltana natural gas project along with PDVSA and Chevron. Deltana is a project to extract and export gas from a collection of fields believed to hold a total of 200 bcm. Venezuela currently imports gas from Colombia even though it has much larger reserves.
Apr 2013: Saipem has won offshore engineering and construction contracts from Cardon IV, a joint venture between Eni (50%) and Repsol (50%). Cardon IV have commissioned work for the Perla EP gas project in the offshore Gulf of Venezuela involving installation of a hub platform, two satellite platforms, a 67 km, 30 inch export pipeline and other tie-in operations. Most of the work will be performed between late 2013 and mid 2014.
Mar 2013: PetroJunin, comprising PdVSA (60%) and Eni (40%), started production from Junin-5 extra-heavy oil field in the Faja del Orinoco. The block covers an area of 425 sq kms. Phase 1 will increase production to 15,000 bbls a day by the end of 2013 and to 75,000 bbls per day by 2015, through the drilling of 180 wells. Phase 2 will bring production to 240,000 bbls per day by the end of 2018.
Jan 2013: The first well in the Carabobo-1 field (North and Central areas) of the Faja del Orinoco Belt has started producing. The project aims to produce 30,000 bbls per day in the first phase and 90,000 bbls per day in the second phase, ultimately reaching 400,000 bbls per day in 7 years. The project is operated by Petrocarabobo, a joint venture between ONGC (11%), Oil India and Indian Oil Corp (3.5% each), Repsol and Petronas (11% each) and PdVSA (60%). The consortium is investing US$8.8 bn in developing the oilfield and another US$12.1 bn for an upgrader which will eventually be built
2012
Sep 2012: Chevron and PdVSA plan to increase production at their Petroboscan joint venture to 130,000 bbls per day. Petroboscan operates the Boscan field in Venezuela’s western state of Zulia and currently produces 115,000 bbls per day.
Sep 2012: PDVSA reported 6 new projects in the Faja del Orinoco heavy oil belt expected to start production by the end of 2012. The first will be Petromacareo, a joint venture with Petrovietnam. Petrojunin, with Eni, will launch after Petromacareo, followed by Petromiranda, with a consortium of investors including Rosneft and Lukoil. To follow will be Petrourica, with CNPC; Petrocarabobo with Repsol and Petroindependencia with Chevron.
South America
