API: Reviving Venezuela’s Oil Sector Will Be Long, Multi-Billion Dollar Process

By Alex Kimani – Jan 14, 2026, 2:00 PM CST

Oil industry executives have voiced that reviving Venezuela’s oil production will be a long and costly process.
Companies will need stable, legally defined frameworks, security for investments, and clear commercial terms before committing major capital.
Rystad Energy recently estimated that restoring Venezuela’s oil production to its previous peak of 3 million barrels per day (bpd) would require a total investment of $183 billion over 15 years.

American Petroleum Institute (API) CEO, Mike Sommers, alongside other industry leaders like TotalEnergies‘ (NYSE:TTE) Patrick Pouyanne, have warned that reviving Venezuela’s oil industry will be a long, costly, multi-billion dollar process requiring clear legal frameworks, strong investment security, and significant infrastructure amid political pushes for quick returns.

While small production increases (100k-200k bpd) might happen sooner, especially from areas like Lake Maracaibo where Chevron (NYSE:CVX) operates, the energy leaders have emphasized that a significant boost requires massive, long-term investment.

Companies will need stable, legally defined frameworks, security for investments (including protection from expropriation), and clear commercial terms before committing major capital. President Trump has urged U.S. oil majors to invest up to $100 billion to revitalize Venezuela’s vast reserves, seeing it as a way to lower global energy prices.

Rystad Energy, a Norwegian energy research firm, recently estimated that restoring Venezuela’s oil production to its previous peak of 3 million barrels per day (bpd) would require a total investment of $183 billion over 15 years. This massive investment is needed because the country’s oil infrastructure is in severe disrepair due to years of neglect, underinvestment, and sanctions. Rystad views a gradual recovery as the most likely scenario, with a full return to peak production dependent on long-term stable market conditions and a secure investment climate.

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods recently termed Venezuela as “uninvestable” due to deep legal, commercial, and political risks, despite U.S. President Trump’s push for investment to rebuild its oil sector after the Maduro regime’s removal. Other major oil companies, like ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Chevron, have echoed this sentiment, citing complex issues such as asset seizures, lack of clear frameworks, corruption, and political instability as major barriers to committing billions in investment.

ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips lost assets worth billions of dollars in Venezuela after former President Hugo Chávez undertook a nationalization drive in 2007, where he forced foreign oil companies to cede majority control to the state oil company (PDVSA) in lucrative Orinoco Belt projects. Venezuela expropriated their operations after the two companies refused to accept minority stakes and renegotiated terms, leading them to exit the country and pursue lengthy, largely unresolved international arbitration for billions in compensation.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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