Chevron will expand Venezuela operations after Trump deal, company confirms

Chevron, the only U.S. oil company with a major presence in Venezuela, will expand its operations there. 

The oil giant confirmed the news Wednesday, just days after President Donald Trump announced a deal to rebuild Venezuela’s oil reserves and give the Pentagon a stake in the profits.

Chevron’s Venezuela expansion

What they're saying:

Chevron says it has been given additional land in the Orinoco Belt, where it already has operations. 

RELATED: US to take partial control of Venezuela's oil reserves, Trump says: Will it lower gas prices?

"Chevron’s history in Venezuela spans more than a century, and our expanded position reflects our confidence in the country’s deep resource potential and its ability to compete for investment within our portfolio for decades," CEO Mike Wirth said in a prepared statement.

By the numbers:

The company said it plans to invest more than $7 billion over the next five years and hopes to double its current production to about 600,000 barrels a day.

Venezuela’s vast oil reserves

Venezuela holds more than 303 billion barrels of crude oil in its reserves. It’s the world’s largest reserve, according to OPEC’s 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin. Saudi Arabia is a distant second with 267 billion barrels.

Dig deeper:

Despite its vast reserves, the country’s infrastructure is degraded and the nation is operating under international sanctions, bringing its daily production to just over 1 million barrels. The U.S. produces almost 14 million barrels per day.

Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, has had a presence in Venezuela since 1923. 

Why does Trump want Venezuela’s oil? 

The backstory:

Trump has been after Venezuela’s oil since the U.S. military captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. He has pressed to get U.S. oil companies back into the country, but there’s no evidence that any other major companies are interested. 

Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said in January that Venezuela was "uninvestable." An Exxon spokesman said this week that "nothing has changed."

The agreement for the U.S. to have a stake in Venezuela’s oil has been met with skepticism from analysts. Trump has said it will "substantially lower" gasoline prices in the U.S., but experts say it’s not likely given that it’ll take several years and billions of dollars to rebuild the country’s oil business. There are also concerns over whether Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez has the authority to give Chevron 100-year rights without approval by the country’s National Assembly. 

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped overnight to $4.12, according to the motor club AAA. That is 93 cents more than it cost at this point last year.