oleocene.org

BP Secures Venezuela Offshore Gas License With ADNOC-Backed XRG

By Charles Kennedy - Aug 13, 2026

BP has signed agreements with the Venezuelan government to advance offshore natural gas development, including an exploration and production license for Phase 2 of the Loran field in the Plataforma Deltana area.

Loran Phase 2 contains an estimated 4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas resources, according to BP.

The British energy major will hold the license alongside XRG, the international energy investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC, and UCC Oil and Gas Holding. Each company will hold an equal working interest, while BP will serve as operator.

BP said Phase 2 is expected to be developed in parallel with Phase 1, potentially expanding the scale of the wider Loran offshore development.

The license marks a further step in BP’s expansion plans in Venezuelan offshore gas following a memorandum of understanding signed with the government in April 2026. That agreement established a framework for cooperation on exploration and potential development opportunities across the Plataforma Deltana region, including Loran.

BP and the Venezuelan government also signed a separate memorandum of understanding covering the Carúpano East Block, located in the Caracolito sub-basin of the Mariscal Sucre maritime area.

That agreement does not represent a development commitment but establishes a framework for evaluating exploration opportunities and discussing potential future development of the offshore acreage.

The latest agreements deepen BP’s involvement in Venezuela at a time when the company is seeking to leverage its existing experience and infrastructure across the Caribbean and Latin America. Loran's resource base, if developed commercially, could establish a significant new source of offshore gas production in the region.

The agreements were finalized during a visit to Venezuela by BP Chief Executive Meg O'Neill and David Campbell, the company's senior vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Venezuela Signs Oil Deals With SLB and Hunt to Boost Production

By Charles Kennedy - Aug 19, 2026

Venezuela has signed deals with oilfield service major SLB and Hunt Oil Co. as part of efforts to boost investment in its key energy industry, Bloomberg reported, citing a TV statement made by the South American country’s oil minister, Paula Henao.

One of the deals involves development of two fields and the other is a framework deal with SLB for “services related to integrated reservoir studies throughout the country,” according to the statement.

The deal with SLB follows earlier reports about the oilfield services company sealing a long-term deal with the Venezuelan government to reverse a major decline in oil production and modernize the country’s oil industry.

“Venezuela's oil and gas sector has substantial resource potential, and realising that potential will require technology, digital integration and long-term talent development,” SLB chief executive Olivier Le Peuch said in a company statement in June.

The focus of the modernization push would be artificial intelligence, the statement also said, aiming to digitally transform Venezuela’s oil industry using predictive models, connected data, and AI-driven workflows.

Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official said this week that about half of Venezuela’s oil exports are now going to U.S. refiners. “In the last couple of months, we're seeing north of 500,000 barrels of approximately half of the production coming out of Venezuela is coming to the United States to the refineries that were built specifically for that crude,” Energy Under Secretary Kyle Haustveit said at an industry event, as quoted by Reuters.

Venezuela’s oil production currently stands at a daily average of 1.25 million barrels, Haustveit also said, adding that the United States was exporting over 100,000 barrels of naphtha daily to Venezuela to help boost crude production. According to a senior PDVSA official, production should hit 1.245 million barrels at the end of this month.