Venezuela is on the verge of a wave of agreements with private firms to ramp up oil production, and Wright is expected to unveil more than a dozen company deals on Wednesday. The biggest involves Chevron Corp., which is significantly expanding in the country with two giant fields in the Orinoco Belt. According to Wright, contracts with GE Vernova Inc. and Eni SpA are already in place. During his visit, he is scheduled to meet acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez.
In a Bloomberg TV segment, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth outlined a $7 billion plan for Venezuela built around multiple joint-venture partnerships.
Speaking on Venezuelan state television earlier this week, Rodríguez said Shell Plc, BP Plc and Spain's Repsol SA are also expected to sign deals. Wright added that China will not have any debt claim on revenue from new production and said debt restructuring efforts are underway. "Venezuela's got a lot of historical debt," he said. "These fields will be developed for the benefit of the Venezuelan people, for the benefit of Americans and for the benefit of global energy markets."
Meanwhile, as cooperation with the U.S. advances, the OPEC founding member is considering quitting the producers' group it co-founded over 60 years ago. Wright said he hasn't discussed with Venezuelan officials whether the South American country should exit OPEC.
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Wright said the U.S. plans to use Venezuelan oil to help rebuild the nation's dwindling Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He said those barrels are unlikely to go straight into the storage caverns and would instead be used in swap operations. While he didn't lay out specifics, one way it could work is via an exchange program: refiners or traders borrow Venezuelan crude and then repay with U.S. crude delivered back into the reserve, rather than selling SPR oil for cash.
Not everyone is buying the idea. During a Bloomberg TV appearance, Stephen Schork of The Schork Group, where he serves as editor and principal, said, "The notion that we are going to use Venezuelan oil to plug the SPR is pure fantasy." He argued the reserve cannot handle oil that heavy and viscous.
If these deals land, Venezuela's output could rise, adding barrels to a tight market while Washington tries swap mechanics to replenish the emergency stockpile. Caracas is also rethinking its role in OPEC, which could shift how it coordinates with other producers. More supply and a potential reshuffle of who pumps what and where can ripple through to pump prices and household budgets, even if you never touch an oil stock.
