KEY POINTS
- Repsol plans to triple Venezuelan oil output within three years, leveraging new licenses and decades-long local experience.
- The company is balancing high-risk Venezuela expansion with stable production growth from Alaska’s Pikka project.
- Massive infrastructure investment and political stability remain key factors that will determine whether Venezuela’s oil revival succeeds.
Spanish energy giant Repsol is accelerating plans to dramatically expand oil production in Venezuela following major geopolitical shifts that have reopened the country’s energy sector.
Under the leadership of Josu Jon Imaz, the company is targeting a tripling of its crude output there to about 135,000 barrels per day within three years, positioning itself as a front-runner among Western firms racing to tap the country’s vast reserves.
The renewed push comes after the removal of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and the easing of U.S. sanctions, developments that created an opening for international companies to re-enter the oil-rich nation. Leveraging decades of operational experience and newly granted U.S. licenses, Repsol aims to raise production by 50 percent within the next year alone.
Long-Standing Presence Gives Repsol an Edge
Unlike many competitors that withdrew during years of sanctions and nationalizations, Repsol maintained a strategic presence in Venezuela for more than three decades. It operates joint ventures with state oil company PDVSA and holds stakes in several major assets, including onshore crude projects and offshore gas fields developed alongside Italy’s Eni.
One of its most valuable holdings is the Perla gas field, among the largest offshore discoveries in Latin American history, which supplies gas crucial to Venezuela’s domestic power system. The company is also negotiating new exploration blocks near its existing operations in the resource-rich Orinoco Belt, widely regarded as the world’s largest oil reserve zone.
Although smaller than supermajors such as Chevron, Repsol is considered a powerful mid-tier multinational. As of early 2026, it ranked as Europe’s sixth-largest oil and gas company by revenue. The firm produces roughly 550,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day globally and plans to increase total output to as much as 570,000 barrels daily this year, excluding potential gains from Venezuela.
Venezuela already accounts for about 15 percent of Repsol’s proven reserves, making it one of the company’s most strategic regions despite political and financial risks. The country previously owed the firm billions tied to past asset disputes, but management now views restoring operations as a higher priority than recovering debt.
