With 30 years of Wall Street experience, co-editor-in-chief Todd Campbell explains why ConocoPhillips’ stance on Venezuela’s oil ramp is one. reality check For the energy sector.
Energy companies have felt significant pressure over the past year as OPEC production has increased, driving The price of West Texas crude oil fell to $62 per barrelLower than Permian Basin production costs. As a result, many think that the next big game will be resource-rich Venezuelawhich holds the world’s leading oil reserves 303 billion barrels.
The lure of unlocking so much black gold should be a small amount of big oil chomping, but decades of failed promises mean CEOs are only too eager to commit the billions of dollars needed to renovate Venezuela’s aging infrastructure. ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance.
Fast facts: Venezuela’s highest gross domestic product 3.75 millionbarrels per day. In 2025, it approx 800,000Almost minimum to high 350,000 in 2020.
In ConocoPhillips’ (COP) recent earnings call, Lance addressed the matter directly, resetting expectations for a rapid ramp-up by his company.
“We’re very focused on what we’ve talked about in the past, and the path to getting some recovery in Citgo in Venezuela,” Lance said. “That’s our first priority right now.”
Like many oil companies, ConocoPhillips was burned by Venezuela’s nationalization of its oil reserves, and the confiscations have left the company with minimal debt. $10 billionWith interest, after a 2019 International Arbitration Tribunal decision.
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Venezuela owes ConocoPhillips more than anyone else for its past actions there, as it refused to accept a minority stake in its assets when former President Hugo Chavez took over in 2007.
More oil and gas:
ExxonMobil Rejected the same deal, while Chevron (CVX) accepted those terms and is expected to benefit the most from Maduro and the upcoming seizure and removal of Venezuela’s oil ramps.
Petrozuata: Extra Heavy Crude Oil Project in the Orinoco Belt. It cost more than $2.4 billion to build, with an estimated daily production of 120,000 barrels, according to Offshore Technologies.
Hammock: A 160,000-acre, extra-heavy crude oil project in the Orinoco Belt. The total cost of the project is $3.8 billion with an estimated production of 190,000 barrels per day. ConocoPhillips had a 40% interest, according to Offshore Technologies.
Corocoro: A large offshore Prakash oil development project in the Gulf of Paria was discovered in early 1999 and is estimated to contain 500 million barrels of oil reserves. ConocoPhillips had a 32.5% interest, according to World Port Directory.
Given the size of the projects and the money paid, ConocoPhillips may be reluctant to throw good money after bad.
In the company’s earnings call, Ryan outlined three key changes needed to clear the way for participation in Venezuela:
Security needs to be improved.
Constructive relations with local governments should be strengthened and “local people who actually want American companies there.”
Sustainable Policies: “You need stability in Venezuela and obviously here on the part of the US.”
Assurances from the White House to address those questions have been light, despite calls for up to $100 billion in investment to address years of underinvestment in Venezuela.
President Donald Trump has suggested the U.S. military will provide security, but in January signed Executive Order 14373, effectively preventing oil companies from returning funds from oil revenues to U.S. accounts, including some money held in Qatar.
One way ConocoPhillips is trying to recoup the billions it owes Venezuela is through an auction of the petroleum giant. CITGOThe US subsidiary of Venezuela’s National Oil Company, PDVSA.
Fast facts: In 2007, ConocoPhillips suffered losses due to seizures 16 million BOE 2007 Venezuela production and 1.089 trillion BOE of Bhandar.
Last November, a court-appointed official recommended a sale for CITGO $5.9 billion An affiliate of Amber Energy ( Elliott Investment Management). ConocoPhillips is a preferred claim holder; However, the total claims are higher $21 billionAccording to EnergyNow, any money received from the sale would therefore be well shy of what they owe.
As I’ve written before, unlike ConocoPhillips, Chevron continues to operate as a minority owner in Venezuela and is perfectly positioned to tap into the country’s vast reserves.
It currently holds a slate of valuable assets, and the lifting of sanctions should allow it to rapidly ramp up to earlier production levels.
Petroboscan: 39.2% interest in the Boscan area
Petroindependiente, SA: 25.2% interest in the LL-652 field in Lake Maracaibo
Petropiar, SA: 30% interest in the Huyapari field within the heavy-crude dominant Orinoco belt
Petroindependencia, SA.: 34% interest in the Carabobo 3 project in the Carabobo region of the Orinoco Belt (extra heavy crude oil).
Iran: Offshore 60% interest in Loran field Source: Chevron
Chevron was producing more than 200,000 barrels per day in Venezuela, but that number dropped below 100,000 after the US imposed an export ban.
“Chevron has been in Venezuela for more than a century,” Chevron CEO Michael Wirth said in January. “We see production volumes likely to increase by 50% over the next 18 to 24 months.”
Related: The 147-year-old oil giant just raised its dividend by 4% through 2026
This story was originally published by TheStreet on February 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a preferred source by clicking here.
