{
  "id": 2094330,
  "title": "Venezuela’s Oil Minister Went to Houston and Signed Two Deals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/venezuelas-oil-minister-went-to-houston-and-signed-two-deals",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-20T07:33:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Rio Times",
    "slug": "the-rio-times",
    "url": "https://www.riotimesonline.com/venezuela-oil-deals-houston-slb-hunt-oil/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Venezuela's oil minister, Paula Henao, traveled to Houston and signed two significant oil deals with American companies Schlumberger (SLB) and Hunt Oil. These agreements aim to recover production from two oil fields and conduct integrated reservoir studies to determine the actual recoverable reserves. The minister emphasized that Venezuela is open to signing production-sharing contracts to boost oil output, which is crucial for the country's economy and stability. The focus of the Houston visit was on legal security for foreign investors, as Venezuela expropriated foreign oil assets in 2007 and spent over a decade in arbitration over it. Chevron's CFO, Eimear Bonner, forecasted a 50% increase in production from the company's Venezuelan joint ventures by the end of 2028, reaching approximately 420,000 barrels a day. This forecast, however, does not reflect the Venezuelan government's position, as the country's oil production capacity remains a fraction of its potential.",
  "summary": "Venezuela's oil minister signed agreements with SLB and Hunt Oil in Houston and told investors the country is ready to sign production-sharing contracts. The post Venezuela’s Oil Minister Went to Houston and Signed Two Deals appeared first on The Rio Times .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}