VENEZUELA · ENERGY
Key Facts
- The country Venezuela sits on some of the largest oil reserves on earth, and its crude output is rising again under US sanctions licences.
- Why it matters A US oil major is committing billions to Venezuelan barrels, and most of the crude is headed for American refineries.
- Why now Chevron restated its Venezuela plan on 30 October 2026, the day it published its third-quarter results, and added a year-end output target.
- What happened Chevron’s three Venezuelan joint ventures are on track for about 300,000 barrels a day of gross output by the end of 2026, with roughly 600,000 planned by 2031.
- The numbers 300,000 barrels a day by year-end, up about 20% on 12 months; 600,000 by 2031; US$7 billion over five years; costs under US$20 a barrel.
- What it means for you More Venezuelan heavy crude for US refineries, and a test of whether revocable sanctions licences can carry long-term investment.
- Still open Chevron’s current Venezuelan output is not stated, and Washington can amend the licence that covers the ventures.
- Power Index Venezuela ranks 13th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 27.0 points (October 2026 edition).
In Plain English
PDVSA is Venezuela’s state oil company, the usual partner of foreign firms such as Chevron in Venezuelan joint ventures. OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the US Treasury, enforces US sanctions and issues the general licences that let named companies work in sanctioned sectors.
Gross production counts every barrel a venture pumps, partner’s share included, while net production counts only the company’s own share. Equity accounting means a company books its share of a venture’s profit as one line instead of adding up all of the venture’s revenue and costs.
Primary recovery means pumping oil out with the reservoir’s natural pressure and pumps, without injecting steam or water to push more out. It is the cheapest way to produce, but it usually recovers a smaller share of the oil in the ground.
Chevron said on 30 October 2026 that its three Venezuelan joint ventures are on track to reach about 300,000 barrels a day of gross production by the end of the year, an increase of about 20% over the previous 12 months. The target came with the US oil major’s third-quarter results and restated the plan it announced on 2 September to invest US$7 billion over five years and double output to roughly 600,000 barrels a day by 2031.
Chief executive Mike Wirth gave the targets on the earnings call that followed Chevron’s third-quarter results, which showed earnings of US$9.9 billion (US$5.06 per share). Chevron’s earlier US$7 billion Orinoco commitment and its sanctions licence were covered in September, and the call added the year-end target, named the US refineries that take the crude and showed how Venezuela now enters Chevron’s books.
What Chevron Told Investors
Wirth told analysts that Chevron is on track to reach around 300,000 barrels of oil per day of gross production in Venezuela by year-end. He recalled that Chevron announced plans last month to double output from the three joint ventures to roughly 600,000 barrels a day by 2031, all on primary recovery.
Chief financial officer Eimear Bonner said total costs, capital and operating together, should stay below US$20 a barrel, the same ceiling Chevron gave on 2 September. Wirth added that the capital will be generated through the revenues in the ventures and that Venezuela is now immediately accretive and free cash flow positive.
New Terms and Bigger Acreage
Wirth said Chevron expanded its acreage and established new fiscal terms in Venezuela, which he said makes the country more competitive within the company’s portfolio. Chevron’s results release lists Venezuela among its business highlights for the quarter, citing better commercial terms and wider acreage.
Wirth also pointed to contract provisions such as stability clauses and international arbitration. These are the protections investors look for in a country where oil contracts have been renegotiated in the past.
A Change in Chevron’s Books
Bonner said Chevron’s third-quarter production included one month of output from the Venezuelan joint ventures following a change to equity accounting. The results release gives net oil-equivalent production of 3.98 million barrels a day for the quarter, down about 109,000 barrels a day from a year earlier.
The release attributes that decline mainly to lower entitlements as prices rose and to the effects of the Middle East conflict, partly offset by the extra month of Venezuelan output. It puts the average Brent price at US$97 a barrel in the quarter, against US$104 in the second quarter.
The Licence Behind the Barrels
Chevron’s Venezuelan work is covered by General License 50C, issued by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on 27 August 2026, which names Chevron, BP, Eni, Maurel and Prom, Repsol and Shell. The licence covers oil and gas transactions with the Venezuelan government and PDVSA, and the text states no expiration date.
Contracts with PDVSA must allow disputes to be heard in the United States, the United Kingdom, France or Singapore, and payments to blocked persons must go into the Foreign Government Deposit Funds or another account Treasury specifies. Dealings with persons located in Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba or China are not authorized, and companies must send a transaction report ten days after the first deal and every 90 days after that.
PDVSA Output at a Seven-Year High
PDVSA announced national production of 1,252,000 barrels a day in reports published on 24 October, which El Nacional called the highest operational figure since 2019. Another outlet, Noticias Col, linked the rise to productive participation contracts that reactivated wells in Zulia state.
Chevron’s year-end target of 300,000 barrels a day would equal almost a quarter of that national total, although the two figures are not stated on a common basis. The oil deals and sanctions licences behind the recovery are tracked in Venezuela coverage.
What It Means for You
Wirth said the majority of Chevron’s Venezuelan crude goes to US refiners, including Pascagoula in Mississippi and El Segundo in California, which adds to domestic product supply. He said Chevron markets all of the crude itself, so it controls the flow of revenue back into Venezuela.
For investors, the plan is a test of whether sanctions licences that Washington can amend can carry US$7 billion of spending over five years. Venezuela is one project inside a company that generated US$12.0 billion of free cash flow in the quarter, so the plan moves a very large company only at the margin.
What Is Not Known
Chevron has not published a current Venezuelan output figure, so the path from today’s rate to 300,000 barrels a day by year-end cannot be checked. The US$7 billion is described as the ventures’ plan over five years, and how much of it Chevron itself provides was not stated.
Whether Washington keeps the licence in place for five years is also unknown, since OFAC reissued it as 50B on 10 June and as 50C on 27 August. The effect of the new fiscal terms on the Venezuelan government’s oil revenue was not disclosed either.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much oil does Chevron produce in Venezuela?
Chevron gave no current figure in its results release or on the earnings call. It said its three joint ventures are on track for about 300,000 barrels a day of gross production by the end of 2026.
How much is Chevron investing in Venezuela?
Chevron’s results release says its Venezuelan joint ventures plan to invest US$7 billion over the next five years. Chief executive Mike Wirth said the capital will come from the revenues of the ventures.
Is Chevron allowed to operate in Venezuela under US sanctions?
Yes, under OFAC General License 50C, dated 27 August 2026, which names Chevron, BP, Eni, Maurel and Prom, Repsol and Shell. The licence bars dealings with persons located in Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba or China.
Where does Chevron’s Venezuelan oil go?
Wirth said the majority goes to US refiners, including Pascagoula and El Segundo. Chevron markets the crude itself, which he said lets it control the flow of revenue back into Venezuela.
What is Venezuela’s national oil output?
PDVSA announced 1,252,000 barrels a day in reports published on 24 October, which El Nacional called the highest operational figure since 2019. The figure comes from PDVSA itself, and no independent measure was cited.
Sources: Chevron press release, Chevron expands position in Venezuela, 2 September 2026; Chevron, Third Quarter 2026 Results (Business Wire release as carried by Offshore Source), 30 October 2026; Chevron Q3 2026 earnings call transcript (TradingKey), 30 October 2026; US Treasury OFAC, Venezuela General License 50C, 27 August 2026; OFAC, Venezuela-related sanctions page; SEC EDGAR submissions index for Chevron (Form 8-K, Items 2.02 and 9.01, filed 30 October 2026); El Nacional, 24 October 2026; Noticias Col, 24 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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