FX.co ★ $76bn investment pact signals US return to Venezuelan oil market

Venezuela is preparing for an unprecedented influx of American capital after acting President Delcy Rodriguez said the country aims to attract $76 billion into its oil sector over the next five years.

The optimism rests on a sweeping package of 61 investment agreements. The headline deal is a bilateral pact with the United States that hands 17 oil fields to joint development and envisions the deployment of roughly 250 new drilling rigs.

The dramatic pivot toward foreign investors became possible after Nicolas Maduro was removed from power in January. The Trump administration has publicly backed the return of international companies to Venezuela’s energy industry.

Venezuela sits on the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but decades of underinvestment, managerial chaos at state oil firm PDVSA, and strict US sanctions gutted production capacity.

Early signs of recovery are already visible: Rodriguez said that output in the oil‑rich state of Zulia jumped to 370,000 barrels per day from 70,000. By the end of 2026, the government aims to secure roughly 400,000 barrels per day.

The central task of Caracas now is to ensure that the pledged $76 billion reaches dilapidated infrastructure and is not left as mere rhetoric.