French energy giant TotalEnergies signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA on September 19, laying the groundwork for a return to the country’s hydrocarbon sector after a five-year absence. The French company had exited Venezuela’s upstream operations in 2021, taking a $1.4 billion writedown. The memorandum, signed at Miraflores Palace in Caracas in the presence of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, focuses on strategic cooperation in hydrocarbons. Venezuela holds approximately 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the largest of any country in the world, yet currently produces under 1 million barrels per day, compared to nearly 3 million barrels per day in the late 1990s.
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