The United States Undersecretary of Energy, Kyle Haustveit, arrived in Caracas this Monday to participate in the signing of an important agreement that expands the operations of the American company Chevron in Venezuela, with the aim of increasing the country’s oil production.
The agreement was signed in an event held at the Miraflores Palace, headquarters of the Presidency. As detailed by Javier La Rosa, Chevron representative, the agreement increases the company’s participation to 49% in the Petroindependencia joint venture and grants rights to carry out primary activities in the Ayacucho 8 block, within the Petropiar joint venture.
The Ayacucho 8 block is located in the Orinoco Oil Belt, the largest extra-heavy crude oil field in the world. In the event broadcast by Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), La Rosa thanked “the great collaboration between the Venezuelan Government and the American Government” and highlighted that Chevron manages “the largest production in the country” in the three joint companies in which it participates.
He considered that the recent reform of the Organic Law of Hydrocarbons will allow the acceleration of the development of its assets and the increase in national production.
For her part, the governor in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, who took office after the capture of Nicolás Maduro last January, pointed out that the agreement was reached after “days of negotiations” and described it as an example that, with the new regulatory framework, there are “legal paths” to guarantee the legal security of investments.
“The proceeds will go directly to a shared benefit between both nations,” said Rodríguez, who also insisted on the need to move towards “a Venezuela without sanctions” to give greater confidence to investors.
The document was signed by Héctor Obregón, president of PDVSA; Eduardo Pinto, vice president of Exploration and Production of the state oil company; and Mariano Vela and Mario Gandara, president and commercial vice president of Chevron Venezuela, respectively.
The Minister of Hydrocarbons, Paula Henao, signed the resolution of delimitation and granting of rights for primary activities in the Ayacucho 8 block.
The event was also attended by the chargé d’affaires of the United States Embassy, Laura Dogu, and Undersecretary Kyle Haustveit, who is part of President Donald Trump’s energy team.
This agreement comes weeks after the approval of the hydrocarbon reform, which opened the Venezuelan oil sector to greater private and foreign participation, allowing companies to directly operate and market crude oil for the first time in decades.
