Spain's Repsol is poised to retake operational control of its Venezuelan oil assets under a deal to be signed on 16 April 2026 with Caracas, including state oil company PDVSA. The plan includes tripling production within three years and a 'guaranteed' payment system designed to avoid the pitfalls of past arrangements under which Caracas failed to pay up. The new framework does not resolve the roughly $4.55 billion that Repsol says Venezuela owes it for previously supplied gas and oil, but the guarantee covers future volumes.

The agreement follows the Chevron-Caracas deal struck earlier this week and is part of a US-backed effort to rebuild Venezuela's oil industry after Washington captured former president Nicolás Maduro in January 2026. Repsol owns a 40% stake in the onshore Petroquiriquire asset (PDVSA holds the rest), currently producing around 45,000 barrels per day; Repsol plans a 50% output increase within 12 months and triple production within three years. It is also a partner with Italy's Eni in the offshore Perla gasfield.

Venezuela holds the world's largest oil reserves but produces just 1 million barrels per day, down from a peak of 3.5 million. Donald Trump is pushing western oil firms to invest $100 billion in Venezuela, though ExxonMobil's Darren Woods called the country 'uninvestable' in January. The US Treasury on Tuesday authorised financial institutions to deal with Venezuela's central bank, and Caracas has passed hydrocarbons and mining reforms lowering taxes and weakening state control. Source: Financial Times, 16 April 2026, Jamie Smyth and Joe Daniels.