The U.S. federal government is discussing the removal of some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry to make it easier for U.S. companies to boost Venezuela’s oil production under a deal worth $2 billion announced by President Trump earlier this month after the ousting of President Nicolas Maduro.
According to unnamed sources who spoke to Reuters, the plan is to issue a general sanction waiver to enable energy companies to return to Venezuela without risking punitive action from Washington. Per the report, there are many who want to return – and they have been applying for individual sanction waivers. These include Chevron, Repsol, Eni, Reliance Industries, and several oilfield service providers.
Earlier this month, after grabbing President Maduro from Caracas to bring him to court in New York, President Trump said Venezuela will have to supply 50 million barrels of crude to the United States. That was just for starters. Trump’s plans involve what some see as a takeover of the Venezuelan oil industry by the United States, and for now, the Venezuelan government does not seem to have a problem with that.
In fact, this week, interim president Delcy Rodriguez said she expected new investments in Venezuela’s oil to hit $1.4 billion this year, up from $900 million in 2025. Yet not everyone is enthusiastic about potential opportunities to profit from Venezuela’s oil wealth. Exxon notoriously called the country “uninvestable”, which angered President Trump. According to estimates, Venezuela’s oil industry needs total investments of some $100 billion over the next decade to reverse the gradual decline it has experienced in recent years.
If the investment materializes, the country’s production of crude oil could grow significantly. Per Enverus, the total could jump to 1.5 million barrels daily by 2035, up by 50% from current production rates. In a best-case scenario, the daily average could rise all the way to 3 million barrels.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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