Chevron is expected to formally unveil a Venezuela expansion on Wednesday during a visit with Energy Secretary Chris Wright, making it the first major U.S. oil move since Trump’s new oil pact.
The expansion follows a White House-backed agreement with North American Blue Energy Partners covering 17 oil fields with 65 billion barrels of reserves and giving the Pentagon a 35% stake in a new company.
U.S. officials said the government will not invest cash, arguing its support will help attract financing, and defended partner Alejandro Betancourt as vetted despite past money-laundering investigations in Europe that never produced charges.
Analysts say reviving Venezuela’s output could take years, and they question both Delcy Rodríguez’s authority to grant 100-year rights and the deal’s durability without approval from Venezuela’s National Assembly.
Trump is pitching the push as a way to stabilize post-Maduro Venezuela and reduce reliance on Middle East crude, though Exxon said its view of the country as “uninvestable” has not changed.