Venezuela Signs Oil Deals With SLB and Hunt to Boost Production

Venezuela has inked agreements with two oilfield service companies, Schlumberger (SLB) and Hunt Oil Co., as part of initiatives to inject more investment into the nation's energy sector, according to Bloomberg. The information was relayed by an official statement from Venezuela's oil minister, Paula Henao.

One of the agreements is centered on the development of two oil fields, while the other forms a framework with SLB for providing various services pertaining to integrated reservoir studies across the country. This SLB deal comes in the wake of earlier reports of the oilfield services giant sealing a long-term deal with the Venezuelan government, with the objective of reversing a significant slump in oil production and modernizing the country's oil industry.

"Venezuela's oil and gas sector possesses great resource potential," remarked Olivier Le Peuch, chief executive of SLB, in a company statement published in June. The company's modernization strategy revolves around artificial intelligence, with an aim to digitally transform Venezuela's oil industry using predictive models, interconnected data, and AI-driven workflows.

A high-ranking U.S. official revealed recently that around half of Venezuela's oil exports are now destined for U.S. refiners. According to Energy Under Secretary Kyle Haustveit, in the past few months, more than 500,000 barrels of approximately half of Venezuela's oil production have been delivered to U.S. refineries, which were built specifically for that crude. Haustveit also noted that the U.S. is exporting over 100,000 barrels of naphtha to Venezuela on a daily basis to aid in boosting crude production.

Current daily oil production in Venezuela averages 1.25 million barrels, as reported by Haustveit. The U.S. is on track to surpass this figure by the end of this month, with production expected to reach 1.245 million barrels, according to a senior PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.) official.