SPANISH energy giant Repsol is set to take back control of its oil operations in Venezuela after the US administration revoked its licence last year.
The multinational has struck an agreement with the Venezuelan government in hopes of achieving a threefold production boost over the next three years, according to a Financial Times report.
Under the deal, which is expected to be announced on Thursday, the group will also benefit from new payment guarantees after Caracas failed to cough up $4.55 billion that Repsol says it is owed for natural gas and oil supplies, sources have told the Financial Times.
Repsol has been operating in Venezuela since 1993 and renewed its deal with Caracas in 2023. But operations ground to a halt last year after US President Donald Trump withdrew licences from a slew of Western companies amid efforts to wrestle the Maduro regime into submission.
Now, as the US war in Iran continues to push global energy prices upwards, Trump is calling on Western oil companies to invest $100 billion in Venezuela in order to boost crude supplies.
The US president has been easing pressure off the Venezuelan government since Maduro’s ousting, with acting president Delcy Rodriguez now enjoying Trump’s support as she moves to roll out a number of landmark market-friendly reforms.
Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves and was a top crude producer in the 1990s, but mismanagement and US sanctions have curtailed production by more than two-thirds.
Repsol is one of the largest foreign investors in Venezuela, where it owns a 40% stake in the Petroquiriquire oil asset.
Under the new deal, oil production is set to grow by 50% over the next year and to triple over the next three.
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