Chevron CEO Wirth on Investing $7 Billion in Venezuela

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth announced a $7 billion, five-year investment across three Venezuelan joint ventures, aiming to more than triple production to over 600,000 barrels per day by 2031. He emphasized unchanged capital guidance, strong legal and fiscal protections, and decades of heavy-oil resource life. Wirth also noted oil markets are closer to balance but have much lower inventory buffers, with Middle East disruptions still a risk. - Chevron to invest $7 billion in Venezuela through three joint ventures over five years. - Production is expected to more than triple from pre-Trump levels, reaching over 600,000 barrels per day by 2031. - Chevron's capital guidance remains unchanged and the investment fits within its existing plan. - The deal includes strong legal and fiscal protections to reduce contract risk. - Venezuelan resources are heavy oil with multi-billion-barrel scale and decades of production life. - Global oil markets are closer to balance but commercial inventories and buffers are much lower. - Strait of Hormuz bypass routes take years to build, while Middle East conflict upticks remain a concern.