Chevron plans $7B push to boost Venezuelan oil output

US oil giant Chevron is investing an additional $7 billion into Venezuela over the next five years to increase its production, following the Trump administration’s recent deal to help the country.

Chevron plans to invest the funds over five years to boost Venezuelan crude output through its joint ventures. It is the only major US oil company operating in the region.

The investment is the first major commitment by an American oil company since then-President Nicolas Maduro’s arrest in January, after President Donald Trump vowed to revive Venezuela’s struggling oil industry.

It recently secured new acreage in the oil-rich Orinoco Belt and expects the expansion to lift its Venezuelan production to around 600,000 barrels a day, more than twice its current output.

The South American country has more than 303 billion barrels of proven reserves, the largest total in the world.

But turning those reserves into higher production will not be easy. Years of underinvestment and sanctions have left Venezuela’s oil infrastructure in poor condition, and experts say rebuilding it could take years.