Venezuela Sees US$76 Billion Oil Investment

VENEZUELA · OIL

Venezuela oil investment could reach almost US$76 billion over the next five years, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said on Saturday 17 October 2026. She spoke by live link at the close of the second Energy, Oil and Gas Conference in Maracaibo, the capital of the oil state of Zulia.

For US readers the figure matters because Washington is a partner in the plan, with Rodríguez citing 17 agreements signed with the United States. It also bears on fuel prices, since Infobae reported on 1 September that the Trump administration wants more Venezuelan crude to reach US refineries to help cut fuel costs.

The transcripts reviewed show no breakdown of who would pay and no source for the total beyond her own statement. We therefore treat it as a government projection and not as signed capital.

How the Venezuela Oil Investment Plan Was Presented

Rodríguez told the closing session that the industry would receive almost US$76 billion in the next five years, money she said would become direct benefits for the country. Spread evenly, that would be about US$15 billion a year, which is our own arithmetic and not a figure she gave.

She called the agreements a win-win partnership in which the foreign partner also gains. She described the binational agreement with the United States, covering 17 fields, as historic.

The government’s press office said the conference and a Zulia energy forum brought together more than 150 national and international companies. Rodríguez joined the closing session by live link, with Pdvsa president Héctor Obregón at her side, according to Últimas Noticias.

She said the new Hydrocarbons Law offers mixed-company and production-participation contracts, flexible taxes and royalties, and an arbitration regime for investor disputes. She called the legal security for investors absolute, which is her description and not a ruling by any court.

She also said 61 agreements have been signed and 44 are in negotiation, as Últimas Noticias quoted her. She spoke of a Venezuela that is “reborn” and promised more opportunities in 2027 through a national economic dialogue.

Jobs, Rigs and Local Content

Rodríguez said 324,000 jobs, direct, indirect and induced, would be created within ten years. She said the binational agreement with the United States alone contemplates 250 drilling rigs, each needing about 200 workers, in the wording published by Últimas Noticias.

She named metalworking, transport and logistics, catering, hotels and equipment rental among the sectors that would hire more people. She said nearly every sector of the national economy would be reactivated by the agreements.

She announced a technical table of government, industry, investors and the oil chambers to protect jobs and give national suppliers a role. She said each contract would have to show its national supplier and how many Venezuelan workers it employs.

She pointed to Article 19 of the Hydrocarbons Law, which requires state bodies and companies under the law to include national companies in their contracting. She said the government would monitor its enforcement closely.

Output Today and the US Deals

Venezuela told OPEC it produced 1,206,000 barrels a day in September, up from 1,201,000 in August, as covered in our report Venezuela Oil Output Holds Near 1.2 Million, while the secondary sources OPEC uses put September at 1,150,000. El Nacional calculated that official output is up 30.5% so far in 2026, since US forces captured Nicolás Maduro in January.

Rodríguez said Zulia state’s output rose from 70,000 barrels a day to 370,000, with the Petro Zamora joint venture setting a production record. She expects the state to end the year at 400,000 barrels a day and to become a producer of liquefied petroleum gas next year.

On 28 August President Donald Trump announced what he called the biggest oil deal in history, which Factchequeado said gives a US-backed company rights over 17 fields holding about 65 billion barrels of reserves. Factchequeado added on 2 September that neither government had published the full terms in official documents.

Infobae reported that the Trump administration wants more Venezuelan crude to reach US refineries to help cut fuel prices, which the war with Iran has pushed up. It noted that dearer fuel could hurt Republicans in the November legislative elections.

What It Means for You

Investors in energy and oilfield services can read the plan as a signal of how much capital Caracas hopes to attract. Contract texts and named investors would be needed to turn the total into a forecast for any single company.

US drivers feel Venezuelan output only if more crude reaches US refiners, which depends on contracts and shipments that the speech did not detail. Our earlier report Venezuela Oil Investment Surge: Delcy Rodríguez Signals New Producers shows how the reopening began.

Workers and suppliers in Zulia are the group the announcement addresses most directly, through the jobs promise and the local-content rule. Whether foreign operators bring Venezuelan suppliers or their own crews will be visible in the contracts.

What Is Not Known

The sources reviewed do not say how much of the US$76 billion is public and how much private, what it is measured against, or whether it counts signed commitments or an estimate of spending. Infobae reported on 1 September that the White House named North American Blue Energy Partners as holder of the 17-field rights and put its investment at about US$100 billion, a sum no source links to the US$76 billion.

The full text of the agreements with the United States had not been published by either government when Factchequeado reviewed the deal on 2 September, and no later release was found. In Últimas Noticias she speaks of “the rest of the 61 agreements” after naming the 17, which suggests the 17 are included, but she did not say so outright.

The jobs figure of 324,000 is her estimate, and the coverage reviewed gave no method for it. Its time frame appears as ten years in one transcript and as five to ten years in another.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much oil investment did Delcy Rodríguez announce?

She said Venezuela’s oil industry will receive almost US$76 billion in investment over the next five years. The figure is her own projection, and the coverage reviewed gives no breakdown of who would provide the money.

When and where did she say it?

She spoke on Saturday 17 October 2026 at the close of the second Energy, Oil and Gas Conference in Maracaibo, in Zulia state. She joined the session by live link.

How many jobs did she promise?

She said 324,000 jobs, direct, indirect and induced, would be created within ten years. She tied part of that to 250 drilling rigs, each needing about 200 workers, under the agreement with the United States.

How much oil does Venezuela produce now?

Venezuela told OPEC it produced 1,206,000 barrels a day in September, while the secondary sources OPEC uses put the figure at 1,150,000. Rodríguez said Zulia state alone has reached 370,000 barrels a day.

What does it mean for US readers?

It shows how much capital Caracas hopes to attract under partnerships with the United States, which matters to energy investors and to fuel-price politics. The total is a projection until contracts and named investors are published.

Sources: Government press office (MIPPCI), 17 October 2026; El Nacional, 18 October 2026; Últimas Noticias, 17 October 2026; El Nacional, 14 October 2026; Factchequeado, 2 September 2026; Infobae, 1 September 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

The Rio Times · Power Map

See who really holds power in Latin America

Click to open the Power Map →