Venezuela sits on the planet’s largest oil reserves, about 303 billion barrels, yet executives from major oil companies are debating whether the billions of dollars needed to modernize the country’s oil infrastructure are worth it.
The debate: Until 100 billion dollars it will be necessary to get Venezuela’s oil industry where it needs to be. While the upside is massive, it could take years for companies like Chevron and ExxonMobil to get the profits they need to justify the expense. It would be a slam dunk pick if those reserves were located elsewhere. But Venezuela has burned oil companies more than once, and most of the big players are justified in being gun-shy.
Quick fact: Venezuela’s peak production totaled 3.75 millionbarrels per day. In 2025, it adds up to approx 800,000from a minimum of approx 350,000 in 2020.
However, ExxonMobil’s CEO called Venezuela “uninvestable” under current rules.
Chevron, which still operates in the country to a limited extent, as well as energy services companies SLB (formerly Schlumberger) and Halliburtonwho are likely to get great deals if big oil goes all in, are more bullish.
Petroboscan: A share of 39.2% in Boscan Field.
Petroindependiente, SA: 25.2% interest in the LL-652 field at Lake Maracaibo
Petropiar, SA: 30% interest in the Huyapari field in the heavy crude dominant Orinoco belt.
Petroindependencia, SA.: 34% interest in the Carabobo 3 Project in the Carabobo area of the Orinoco Belt (extra heavy crude oil).
Iran: 60% offshore interest in the Loran field. Source: Chevron.
They are apparently confident that the White House can build the necessary protections, paving the way for a massive overhaul of an industry that has suffered from decades of underinvestment.
Wall Street agrees, with investors resoundingly supportive of oil stocks last fall, sending shares higher as tensions with Venezuela and the U.S. rose ahead of the pre-dawn capture of Nicolas Maduro in early January.
Top oil executives, including Chevron, have added more color to the opportunity recently, hinting at what may happen next in Venezuela.
Venezuela’s total production and consumption of oil and other liquids has fallen sharply since 2014.U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics and Short-Term Energy Outlook” loading=”eager” height=”483″ width=”960″ class=”yf-lglytj loader”/>
Venezuela’s total production and consumption of oil and other liquids has fallen sharply since 2014.U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics and the Short-Term Energy Outlook ·U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics and the Short-Term Energy Outlook
A broad, comprehensive plan may take time to work out, given that changes will likely have to happen to convince Big Oil that investing in Venezuela will not amount to good money after bad.
For now, a different approach may take shape. Rather than a massive overhaul, more targeted projects can become the focus, quickly boosting production back to the wells deemed most profitable, providing the cash flow needed to convince players that the reward far outweighs the risk.
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Chevron ( CVX ) currently produces approx 140,000 barrels of oil daily. Vice President Mark Nelson told the White House in early January that he could increase production at his joint ventures with Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA by 50 percent over the next 18 months to two years. Before US sanctions were extended in 2025, Chevron’s production exceeded 200,000 bpd.
Chevron is currently working with PDVSA on five projects, both offshore and onshore, three of which are heavy or extra heavy crudes.
Quick fact: Chevron has 77,000 gross acres of oil and gas in Venezuela.
In mid-January, Reuters reported that Chevron was expected to be among the first to obtain expanded licenses from the White House to increase production in Venezuela
SLB (SLB), the largest energy services company by market capitalization and Halliburton (HAL), an expert in increasing well production, reported quarterly earnings results this week, allowing its executives to share their thoughts.
“SLB is the only international service company currently operating in Venezuela,” the CEO said Olivier Le Peuch on the company’s earnings call. “We are excited and already receiving a lot of inquiries from our customers.”
Related: SLB Dividend Hike Hinges on New Revenue from Digital Oilfields
SLB has been working on projects in Venezuela for “almost a century”. Le Peuch already has its feet and equipment on the ground, potentially allowing it to start generating revenue from projects relatively quickly if it licenses producers and secures a contract, especially since Chevron is already a major SLB customer.
“Today we have a significant set of assets that are ready to be deployed in drilling services, in production, with no less than 10 production sets in rig operations that we are ready to mobilize,” Le Peuch said. “We can be the premier drilling partner for our customers there.”
SLB rival Halliburton also struck a positive tone in its call with Wall Street.
More oil and gas:
“I am excited about the tremendous opportunity for Halliburton in Venezuela. Halliburton entered Venezuela in 1938…Halliburton knows this market well and we will grow our business there as soon as the commercial and legal terms are settled, including payment security,” said CEO Jeffrey Miller.
The final part of that sentence, “including certainty of payment,” is critical. Still, Miller clearly believes that Halliburton could quickly accelerate into Venezuela to take advantage of the construction, completion, intervention, diagnosis and evaluation of well reservoirs there.
“I think we could grow pretty quickly … We still have a footprint there in Venezuela in terms of bases of operations and stuff,” Miller continued. “My phone is ringing off the hook in terms of interest in Halliburton being there.”
Oil stocks have moved higher since their lows last September. However, energy remains significantly underweight in the S&P 500 relative to history, and the energy sector is one of the strongest performers this year, suggesting continued momentum.
Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE): 6.09%
S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (XES): 10%
S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP): 7.1% Source: Yahoo!Finance historical quotes.
The recent strength is reflected in the fact that energy remains the highest-scoring sector in my sector rankings, which I built over 20 years ago for mutual and hedge fund managers. The energy sector has steadily climbed my rankings based on fundamental and technical analysis over the past three months as tech has declined. It has held the top spot for two of the past three weeks, according to Limelight Alpha, which still produces the weekly chart.
In energy, my industry rankings are large-cap equipment and services and the highest mid-cap, followed by mid-cap exploration and production and small-cap drilling stocks.
The drawdown, energy stocks typically perform strongly in the late stages of the economic cycle, according to Fidelity, but unlike earlier periods, the basket’s performance is not based on rising crude oil prices. Simply increasing total production in Venezuela can generate billions of dollars in revenue and profit opportunities even as oil prices remain low.
“A decade ago, it was probably a $0.5 billion business for us pretty consistently,” Miller said. “I’m pretty optimistic that in the long run it’s a much bigger deal.”
SLB could have an even bigger tailwind.
“Historically, we had, about 10 years ago, more than 3,000 people and we were doing more than $1 billion in visible revenue at that time,” Le Peuch said.
Related: The best energy stocks to buy amid Venezuela chaos
This story was originally published by TheStreet on January 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a favorite source by clicking here.
