US oil companies sign first production deals with Venezuela after Maduro's capture

Aug 14, 2026

Following the January 2026 capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces, Venezuela's oil sector is transitioning from political announcements to active operations. Dallas-based Hunt Oil and oilfield services giant SLB have signed landmark production and exploration deals under a reformed legal framework enacted by acting President Delcy Rodríguez. While U.S.-bound crude exports have surged past 500,000 barrels per day, dilapidated port infrastructure and a 30-day tanker bottleneck at Jose port threaten to cap further export growth. Meanwhile, major U.S. oil companies remain cautious due to $170 billion in outstanding historical creditor claims.

US oil company production deals

▪Dallas-based Hunt Oil Company signed a hydrocarbons production participation contract with PDVSA covering the Caro and Carisito onshore fields in eastern Venezuela.
▪California-based Pacific Coast Energy Co. signed agreements to operate fields in Lake Maracaibo and the Orinoco Belt, including a local procurement agreement with North American Blue Energy Partners.
▪Houston-based oilfield services company SLB signed a framework agreement with PDVSA to conduct integrated reservoir studies across Venezuela and is preparing to reactivate up to 15 idle drilling rigs.

Maduro capture by US forces

▪U.S. special operations forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, transporting him to New York to face narco-terrorism and related charges.
▪Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez assumed the role of acting president of Venezuela and enacted a sweeping hydrocarbons reform on January 29, 2026.

Venezuelan oil export recovery

▪Venezuela's oil exports to U.S. refineries have surpassed 500,000 barrels per day out of a total national output of approximately 1.25 million barrels per day.
▪Venezuela's oil revenues are being routed through a U.S. Treasury account held in PDVSA's name, with the State Department authorizing approximately $3 billion in disbursements by April 2026.
▪The United States is exporting more than 100,000 barrels per day of light naphtha to Venezuela to dilute heavy Orinoco Belt crude so it can flow through pipelines.

Port infrastructure bottlenecks

▪The loading delays have capped Venezuela's crude exports at 1.25 million barrels per day, triggering disputes over demurrage, crude quality, and ship contamination.
▪Dilapidated port terminals, power outages, and equipment malfunctions are forcing oil tankers to wait up to 30 days to load at Venezuelan anchorages, particularly near the Jose port.

Betancourt intermediary role

▪Alejandro Betancourt controls North American Blue Energy Partners, which pumps about 200,000 barrels of crude per day in Venezuela, making it the country's second-largest private producer.
▪Venezuelan entrepreneur Alejandro Betancourt is acting as an intermediary for the Trump administration to facilitate oil deals with smaller American wildcatters.

Major oil company investments

▪Established oil majors like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have hesitated to invest in Venezuela due to unresolved expropriation claims and sovereign bond defaults totaling approximately $170 billion.
▪BP partnered with Abu Dhabi's XRG and Qatar's UCC Oil and Gas Holding to secure a licence to develop the second phase of the offshore Loran gasfield.