Eni signs on dotted line to relaunch hydrocarbon ops in Venezuela

April 29, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Italian energy giant Eni has sealed a deal with Venezuela’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) to resume hydrocarbon activities in the South American country.

Days after Chevron penned an asset swap agreement with PDVSA to consolidate its heavy oil position in Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, Acting President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in the presence of Paula Henao, Venezuelan Minister of Hydrocarbons, and Héctor Obregón, CEO of the state-owned company PDVSA, met with Claudio Descalzi, Eni’s CEO, in Caracas.

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The Italian giant updated the Acting President of Venezuela on the firm’s current activities in the country and outlined prospects and opportunities. Eni also inked a programmatic agreement with the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and PDVSA to relaunch oil activities, specifically Junin-5, in which the Venezuelan state-owned firm has a 60% interest and the Italian giant holds the remaining 40% stake.

Located in the Orinoco Belt, this is considered to be a heavy oil field, containing 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place. The European oil major is also involved in the development of natural gas projects and operates the Perla field in the Cardón IV license through the company Cardón IV, jointly owned by Eni (50%) and Repsol (50%).

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Seen as the largest offshore gas field discovered in Latin America, the asset is situated in the Gulf of Venezuela. Cardón IV recently signed the sustainability agreement, which aims to sustainably continue and relaunch Perla production, increasing volumes destined for the domestic market and creating an outlet for future exports.

The Italian company holds a 26% stake and PDVSA the remaining 74% in the joint venture PetroSucre, which operates the Corocoro offshore field. The European player also has a stake in Supermetanol, a petrochemical company active in methanol production.

Eni holds six mining licenses in the country, both offshore in the Gulf of Venezuela and the Gulf of Paria, and onshore in the Orinoco region. The firm’s hydrocarbon production amounted to 64,000 boe/d last year, mainly from the Perla gas field, which represents approximately 35% of the country’s total gas consumption.

Elsewhere around the world, the Italian oil major has been busy augmenting its oil and gas arsenal, as illustrated by a recent natural gas discovery offshore Indonesia.