U.S. Plans to Rapidly Revive Venezuela’s Oil Output by Harnessing Chevron and Major Service Firms

The United States is in active discussions with Chevron and other major oil producers and service providers about a fast-track plan to increase Venezuela’s crude oil production.

This move underscores how energy policy, geopolitics, and economics are converging following the dramatic shift in power in Caracas.

Senior U.S. officials told Bloomberg News that Washington has explored deploying American oilfield service heavyweights, including SLB, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes, to repair and replace Venezuela’s aging equipment and refresh older drilling sites. With limited but targeted investment, officials believe Venezuela could lift crude output by several hundred thousand barrels per day in the short term, as modern U.S. equipment and techniques could quickly bring existing wells back online and unlock incremental production within months.

The discussions come against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s renewed emphasis on boosting Venezuelan oil production after the capture and removal of long-time leader Nicolás Maduro. Trump said on Friday that U.S. oil companies would soon begin drilling in Venezuela, making clear his desire to restore output in a country that holds some of the world’s largest proven crude reserves. Venezuela’s reserves are estimated at more than 300 billion barrels, but years of mismanagement, corruption, sanctions, and chronic underinvestment have left its oil industry a shadow of its former self.

At its peak in the early 2000s, Venezuela produced as much as 3.5 million barrels per day. By late 2025, output had fallen below 1 million barrels per day, depriving the country of its main source of foreign currency and contributing to a prolonged economic collapse. Reviving Venezuelan crude production offers Washington a strategic opportunity to reshape global energy flows, bolster supply, and deepen U.S. influence in Latin America at a time of heightened competition with China and Russia.

Chevron is central to the plan because it is the only major U.S. oil company that never fully exited Venezuela. Operating under a sanctions waiver, Chevron has been producing roughly 240,000 barrels per day through joint ventures with state-owned PDVSA. Its existing infrastructure, workforce, and relationships put it in a unique position to scale up production more quickly than other international firms if political and regulatory conditions allow. Energy analysts say Chevron’s footprint could serve as the backbone for a broader U.S.-led effort to stabilize and expand Venezuelan output.

Oilfield service companies would play an equally critical role. SLB has previously said it could rapidly boost operations in Venezuela with the right licenses and commercial protections in place, noting that it has maintained a local presence despite years of constraints. Halliburton has also signaled interest in returning more aggressively to the country, though executives have stressed the need for clear payment mechanisms and legal safeguards. Baker Hughes, while less publicly vocal, has been included in discussions aimed at upgrading outdated infrastructure and restoring production capacity that has been offline for years.

The renewed push, however, is not without complications. U.S. sanctions remain a key constraint, and while Washington has shown greater flexibility in recent years, the legal framework governing foreign participation in Venezuela’s oil sector is still evolving. The Venezuelan National Assembly has been debating reforms that would reduce state dominance, expand the role of private operators, and strengthen investor protections, including access to international arbitration. Whether those reforms will be fully implemented and respected remains an open question for companies weighing large capital commitments.

There is also lingering caution among U.S. energy firms after years of asset seizures and contract disputes under previous Venezuelan governments. Even with political backing from Washington, many companies remain wary of committing billions of dollars without long-term guarantees on ownership rights, revenue repatriation, and regulatory stability. Analysts note that near-term production gains from refurbishing existing wells are feasible, but restoring Venezuela’s oil industry to even a fraction of its historical capacity would require sustained investment running into tens of billions of dollars.

Still, the potential upside is significant. Incremental Venezuelan barrels could help ease global supply pressures, influence OPEC+ dynamics, and provide U.S. refiners with greater access to heavy crude well-suited to Gulf Coast facilities. Strategically, a revived Venezuelan oil sector under partial U.S. influence would mark a major shift in hemispheric energy politics and reduce the space for rival powers to deepen their foothold in the country.

In the near term, U.S. officials see the effort as a pragmatic attempt to deliver quick wins by applying modern technology to a system long starved of capital and expertise. In the longer term, the success of the strategy will depend on whether Venezuela can offer the political stability, legal certainty, and governance reforms needed to sustain a lasting recovery of its oil industry.