Venezuela’s new petroleum minister Paula Henao urged U.S. companies to invest in her country during a Houston energy conference, portraying the nation as an emerging energy economy rather than a declining former oil powerhouse. Venezuela is offering more than 916 exploration opportunities to foreign investors, with world-leading proven oil reserves exceeding 300 billion barrels and an estimated 192 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The country’s oil production has risen by nearly 250,000 barrels per day over the past year, climbing from just under 1 million to more than 1.2 million barrels daily, largely through optimizing existing wells. President Donald Trump has stated that U.S. oil companies would invest over $100 billion in Venezuela, but major American energy firms are largely taking a cautious wait-and-see approach, except for Chevron which never left the country. Several private U.S. producers, including Hunt Oil, SLB, and Crossover Energy, have already signed or are planning to sign agreements with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
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