Trump-backed Venezuela oil fields to receive 6 drilling rigs this year

A large-scale oil field development project agreed upon by the Donald Trump administration and Venezuela is moving into full-scale drilling, with six rigs set to be deployed before year's end and 12 more to follow next year. The project targets 65 billion barrels of reserves — roughly one-fifth of Venezuela's total — spread across 17 oil fields.

North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), a Venezuelan oil company, plans to deploy six drilling rigs at local oil fields by year's end and add 12 more next year, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday (local time).

NABEP is the lead operator of the oil development project agreed upon by the Trump administration and Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez. The United States has agreed to take a direct equity stake in NABEP, which is developing the 17 oil fields holding an estimated 65 billion barrels — about one-fifth of Venezuela's total reserves.

The company plans to accelerate development further. Starting after 2028, NABEP aims to add two drilling rigs per month, with a final target of 52 rigs in total.

To that end, the company has already secured 23 new drilling rigs from US drilling contractors Helmerich & Payne, Precision Drilling and Patterson-UTI Energy. It also plans to bring in about 30 additional units to maintain existing wells and boost output.

The push to deploy equipment for actual production expansion comes eight months after Donald Trump ousted former President Nicolas Maduro and reached an oil development agreement with the Venezuelan government. NABEP is expected to operate a significant number of the 17 fields independently.

Venezuela holds the world's largest crude oil reserves, but aging facilities and chronic underinvestment have sharply curtailed its output. Daily production was limited to about 1.2 million barrels over the past decade. In 2014, when the country produced roughly 2.5 million barrels per day, 220 drilling rigs were in operation; today, estimates put the number at just two to 24.

Legal and political uncertainty, however, remains a key risk factor. Questions persist over whether direct US investment in Venezuelan oil fields complies with the country's constitution, and concerns have been raised about whether the project can survive potential shifts in the political landscape of either country.

Ed Chow, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Chevron executive, said the plan "creates greater uncertainty for companies looking to invest in Venezuela," adding that "in a capital-intensive, long-term industry, uncertainty slows investment and sometimes stops it altogether."