LatinNews Daily - 14 April 2026

*US oil firm Chevron has signed an asset swap agreement with Venezuela’s state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) which it says “will consolidate all parties’ focus on strategic assets in the country”, with Chevron gaining an increased role in heavy oil production and Pdvsa increasing its control over natural gas. Under the agreement, Chevron will gain an additional 13.21% working interest in the Petroindependencia joint venture, bringing its total stake in the project to 49%. In addition, Petropiar, a joint venture with Pdvsa in which Chevron’s subsidiary holds a 30% stake, has been awarded the rights to develop the Ayacucho 8 area of the Orinoco Belt. In return, Pdvsa will receive Chevron subsidiaries’ stakes in the offshore natural gas projects Plataforma Deltana Block 2 and Block 3 (60% and 100%, respectively), as well as Chevron’s 25.2% non-operated interest in Petroindependiente, a joint venture in the west of the country. The signing of the agreement was attended by the US assistant secretary for hydrocarbons and geothermal energy, Kyle Haustveit, who was in Venezuela for meetings with President Delcy Rodríguez. According to the latest monthly oil market report which was published yesterday by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), Venezuela’s oil production increased in March. Venezuela claimed to have produced 1.10m barrels per day (bpd), up from 1.02m bpd in February. Opec’s own estimate, based on secondary sources, put Venezuela’s oil production in March at 988,000 bpd, up from 909,000 bpd in February.

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