NEW YORK CITY, New York: Chevron plans to invest more than US$7 billion in Venezuela over the next five years after being assigned additional acreage in the country's Orinoco Belt, with the U.S. oil giant aiming to more than double its current production to about 600,000 barrels a day.

The expansion follows President Donald Trump's announcement of a deal to develop Venezuela's oil reserves and give the Pentagon a stake in the profits.

"Chevron's history in Venezuela spans more than a century, and our expanded position reflects our confidence in the country's deep resource potential," CEO Mike Wirth said in a prepared statement.

Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company and the only U.S. oil company with a major presence in Venezuela, has operated there since 1923.

Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, totaling more than 303 billion barrels of crude, according to OPEC's 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin. Saudi Arabia ranks second with 267 billion barrels.

However, Venezuela produces just over 1 million barrels per day because of severely degraded energy infrastructure and international sanctions. Saudi Arabia produces between 10 million and 11 million barrels daily, while U.S. production is almost 14 million barrels per day.

The White House confirmed on August 31 that it is partnering with North American Blue Energy Partners as part of Trump's push to tap Venezuela's oil industry.

"What we're doing is increasing the confidence for private businesses to come do deals in Venezuela, directly with the government of Venezuela," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday.

Energy experts have expressed skepticism, saying Venezuela's oil industry will take years to revive after years of neglect.

Questions also remain over whether acting President Delcy Rodríguez has the authority to grant Chevron 100-year rights over 17 oil fields containing 65 billion barrels of reserves and whether future Venezuelan or U.S. administrations could overturn the agreement.

Venezuela's constitution requires arrangements like the one announced by the United States to be approved by the National Assembly, which has not happened, according to Ian Vásquez, vice president for international studies at the Cato Institute.

Trump has sought to bring U.S. companies back into Venezuela since the capture of Nicolás Maduro. "We have Exxon going in, we have Chevron going in. We have our big oil companies going in," he said in January.

Trump again suggested on August 31 that other U.S. oil majors were preparing to return, although there is no evidence of that beyond Chevron. Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods described Venezuela as "uninvestable" in January. An Exxon spokesman said this week that "nothing has changed."

Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1976 and created state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. A second nationalization occurred in 2007, when President Hugo Chávez pushed foreign oil companies into state-controlled joint ventures and seized assets from those that refused. Chevron agreed to a joint venture, while Exxon and ConocoPhillips refused and had their assets seized.

Trump has said the new agreement would "substantially lower" U.S. gasoline prices, but analysts warn that restoring Venezuela's oil infrastructure will take years and tens of billions of dollars.

"It could take two to four years to get new greenfield facilities online in the Orinoco region," Amy Jaffe of New York University said. "Other places where there is no pipeline and other kinds of support infrastructure could take longer."

The U.S. national average price for regular gasoline, meanwhile, jumped overnight to $4.12 a gallon, up 93 cents from a year ago, according to AAA.