Chevron bets $7B on Venezuela to double oil output

Chevron plans more than $7 billion in Venezuela joint ventures to double crude production to about 600,000 barrels per day over five years, expanding its Petroindependencia operations in the Orinoco Belt by adding two adjacent Carabobo-area blocks. The deal targets low production costs below $20 per barrel and follows decades-long Chevron activity in the country, occurring alongside a separate Trump-backed plan to leverage Venezuela’s oil reserves.