Venezuela's Oil Revival Is Gaining Momentum—3 Energy Stocks Positioned to Benefit
Key Points
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As Middle East supply disruptions raise energy prices, the U.S. and major oil companies are turning to Venezuela’s vast crude reserves.
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Chevron, BP, and Halliburton are each pursuing multi-billion-dollar investments to expand production, gas development, and infrastructure repair in Venezuela.
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All three companies carry Moderate Buy analyst ratings and are scheduled to report third-quarter earnings in late October.
Disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have sent energy prices soaring this year, contributing to record-high diesel prices and higher costs at the pump for American consumers. As the United States looks to offset lost Middle Eastern supply, attention is shifting to Venezuela, home to more than 17% of the world’s proven crude oil reserves.
Following January’s Operation Absolute Resolve, efforts to revive Venezuela’s oil industry have gained momentum. On Aug. 31, the White House announced an agreement with North American Blue Energy Partners outlining up to $100 billion in potential investments to develop 17 oil fields containing approximately 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.
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But the U.S. government isn’t alone in that effort. Oil giants Chevron (NYSE: CVX), BP (NYSE: BP), and Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) are making high-stakes, multi-billion-dollar investments in Venezuela, targeting the country’s massive crude oil reserves, which at around 330 billion gallons are the largest on Earth.
Chevron Targets More Than Double Its Venezuelan Oil Production
In September, Houston-based Chevron announced a plan to invest $7 billion over five years in its Venezuelan joint ventures.
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Ultimately, the integrated oil and gas company will be targeting 600,000 barrels per day in production, or more than double its current total.
Importantly, Chevron estimates its production costs will come in at less than $20 per barrel. For context, Brent crude—the global oil benchmark—is around $105 per barrel, down more than 15% from its one-year high but up more than 80% from its pre-war and one-year low in December 2025.
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In Q2, Chevron produced around 4.07 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (a measure that includes both oil and natural gas production). If the company is able to scale to an additional 300,000 gallons per day of Venezuelan production, that additional output would account for approximately 7% of total company-wide output.
Venezuela’s political environment remains delicate. But if the country can maintain stability, Chevron’s plan is a bullish signal to energy investors following a Q2 that saw adjusted earnings of $12 billion, or $6.06 per share, and $15.4 billion in adjusted free cash flow.
Chevron currently carries a Moderate Buy rating, with 22 of 28 analysts covering the stock assigning it a Buy rating. The analyst consensus price target implies around 2% downside, but the company’s dividend—which it has raised for 38 consecutive years and currently yields around 3.3%—pays shareholders to be patient.
Chevron is scheduled to report Q3 earnings on Oct. 30.
BP Expands Its Offshore Natural Gas Ambitions in Venezuela
In August, BP and the Venezuelan government signed agreements to advance offshore gas development, building on an initial memorandum of understanding signed in April.
As part of the deal, BP received an exploration and production license for Phase 2 of the Loran field in the Plataforma Deltana area, which contains an estimated 4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas resources.
While BP has not disclosed a dollar amount for its investment, the production license granted for Loran Phase 2—a massive and untapped resource.
The opportunity comes on the heels of BP’s strong Q2 results. The company reported revenue of $69.11 billion, up 106.1% year over year and ahead of analysts’ consensus estimate of $57.89 billion.
Analysts have assigned BP a consensus Moderate Buy rating, with 17 of 27 analysts covering the stock marking it as a Buy.
BP is scheduled to report Q3 earnings on Oct. 30.
Halliburton Positions Itself to Rebuild Venezuela’s Oil Infrastructure
As an oilfield services provider, Houston-based Halliburton strives to play an integral role in the revival of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
On Sept. 21, Halliburton announced strategic memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Brazil-based Eneva and WESCA, a Venezuelan engineering, construction, and oil and gas operator with more than 40 years of experience.
The agreements aim to support Halliburton’s reentry into Venezuela’s energy sector, including field evaluation, development planning, and the use of digital technologies to assess underground oil and gas reservoirs.
This is a major catalyst. Halliburton is positioning itself to leverage existing local ties and equipment to generate revenue by repairing aging infrastructure before companies like Chevron and BP can ramp up production.
The news comes on the back of Halliburton posting its fourth consecutive quarterly earnings beat in Q2.
Revenue of $5.7 billion also beat analysts’ consensus forecast, while the adjusted operating margin reached 12% and free cash flow registered $668 million. The company also repurchased approximately $200 million worth of its shares.
HAL carries an analyst consensus rating of Moderate Buy, with 18 of the 25 analysts currently covering the stock assigning it a Buy rating. The consensus price target suggests more than 30% upside potential.
Halliburton is scheduled to report Q3 earnings on Oct. 20.
The article “Venezuela’s Oil Revival Is Gaining Momentum—3 Energy Stocks Positioned to Benefit” was originally published by MarketBeat.