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Spanish energy group Repsol expects its Venezuelan oil production to treble over the next three years after securing permission from the US to operate in the country.
“We see now that we could be able to increase gross oil production in Venezuela by more than 50 per cent over the next 12 months,” chief executive Josu Jon Imaz told investors on a call on Thursday. “We have the ambition and we see plenty of room to multiply the production by three within three years.”
Repsol last week received clearance from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to participate in Venezuela’s oil sector alongside BP, Chevron, Eni and Shell.
“Now we are preparing to resume our operations in a direct way in the country,” Imaz said, adding Repsol was open to exploring new opportunities in Venezuelan oil and gas.
The US administration wants oil and gas companies to pour investment into Venezuela following the capture of leader Nicolás Maduro by US forces early last month, leaving it to claim control of the country’s vast natural resources. US energy secretary Chris Wright recently said the Caribbean nation could increase oil production by 30 per cent to 40 per cent this year. Caracas boasts the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
However, some oil majors have expressed reluctance to participate, with ExxonMobil’s chief executive Darren Woods last month saying the country was “uninvestable”.
Repsol produced 71,300 barrels of oil equivalent in Venezuela last year, up from 67,000 barrels the previous year, according to the company’s latest results. That includes natural gas production, which Repsol intends to increase 10 per cent this year.
Until last March, Repsol had been receiving Venezuelan crude from the state as payment for gas supplied for power generation. However, US pressure on Caracas in the run-up to Maduro’s capture jeopardised those payments, building a sizeable debt owed to Repsol.
According to the Spanish company, Venezuela owes it €4.55bn. The latest developments will allow payments for the gas supply to resume, Imaz said.
Repsol posted a 15 per cent reduction in adjusted net income to €2.6bn for 2025. The company said it expected to return €1.9bn to shareholders in 2026, up from about €1.8bn last year, at a time when some other oil majors are cutting share buybacks.
Repsol shares closed up 2.9 per cent to €18.14.
