U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright (L) meets with Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Sept 2, 2026 (AP Photo)
U.S. energy companies led a series of agreements signed with Venezuela on Sept. 2 that officials said would bring tens of billions of dollars in investment, expand oil production and help repair the country’s power grid.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Caracas for the signing ceremony involving oil producer Chevron, power company GE Vernova and Italy’s Eni.
Wright said the agreements were intended to bring “peace, opportunity and prosperity” to Venezuela through increased investment and employment.
Chevron plans to invest more than $7 billion over the next five years and more than double its Venezuelan output to about 600,000 barrels per day.
The company will develop the Carabobo 1 and Carabobo-2-South-A fields in the Orinoco Belt through its Petroindependencia joint venture.
Eni and Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA signed a 25-year contract covering the Junín 5 field. The Italian company will become the field’s exclusive operator and assume responsibility for its technical, financial and commercial management.
Junín 5 contains an estimated 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place and currently produces about 12,000 barrels per day.
GE Vernova, meanwhile, agreed to modernize Venezuela’s electricity grid. The company plans to add 1 gigawatt of capacity within two years and another 5 gigawatts over the following four years.
Wright told CNBC that Venezuela’s oil output, currently above 1.2 million barrels per day, would exceed 2 million barrels per day by the end of the decade.
The contracts follow a wider oil agreement announced by President Donald Trump on Aug. 28. The White House says the arrangement gives Washington majority control over an estimated 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan reserves through governance and purchasing rights linked to private operator North American Blue Energy Partners.
Wright rejected accusations that Washington was taking Venezuela’s resources. “We are not stealing Venezuelan oil,” he said, arguing that U.S. capital and technology would help develop reserves that were not being used.
Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez said increased production would generate jobs, higher wages and greater public revenue. Caracas estimates the broader agreement could bring more than $209 billion in state revenue over 25 years.
Asked separately about elections eight months after U.S. forces removed Nicolas Maduro, Trump said he did not believe Venezuela was “ready yet.” Rodriguez said an electoral process would take place when the country was ready.
