Venezuela’s amended Organic Hydrocarbons Law has opened several distinct routes into the country’s oil and gas sector, each suited to a different type of asset and a different appetite for operational control. Heavy-oil acreage in the Orinoco Belt, mature onshore fields, offshore gas and refining are all available to international capital, and Venezuela Energy Week (VEW) 2027 will bring the companies weighing those options to Caracas to negotiate directly with PDVSA and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons.
The government made its pitch in Cape Town, South Africa last week, where Vice Minister of Commercial Policy Ricardo Gomez presented 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 193 trillion cubic feet of natural gas at the Venezuela Global Investment Forum during African Energy Week (AEW) 2026. “The opportunities extend from upstream projects to downstream and refining,” he said, as PDVSA works toward its target of 105 definitive oil contracts by year-end.
Participation Contracts
The most direct route is the hydrocarbon productive participation contract (CPPH). Under it, a Venezuela-domiciled company operates a designated area at its own cost and risk for 25 years. With ministry approval, it can also market its share of production. Eni moved its Junín-5 heavy-oil field onto the model in September. The Italian company left its minority joint venture position to become exclusive operator of an asset holding 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place.
Joint Ventures
Companies preferring a partnership can enter a restructured joint venture with PDVSA. The state company keeps majority ownership, but can now hand operational management and marketing rights to its international partners. Mature fields are open through either structure, and their existing wells and infrastructure offer a quicker path to revenue. GeoPark took the contract route at the Bare field – a heavy-oil asset in the Orinoco Belt – under a 25-year agreement. It plans to reactivate up to 1,100 wells and lift output to around 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2038.
Infrastructure Contracts
Direct ministerial contracts and strategic alliances cover oilfield services and infrastructure. Projects on offer include pipeline rehabilitation, export terminals and refinery upgrades. Domestic refineries currently process 350,000 bpd, and PDVSA aims to raise throughput to as much as 600,000 bpd in 2027.
Offshore Gas Follows Its Own Licensing Track
Offshore gas is awarded through a separate licensing process. bp, a Gold Sponsor of VEW 2027, operates the second phase of the cross-border Loran field. It holds the license in equal shares with Abu Dhabi’s XRG and Qatar’s UCC Oil and Gas Holding.
Tiered Fiscal Terms Support Investment Across the Value Chain
Each route to investment sits within a revised fiscal regime. Regulations published in July cap royalties at 30% and the integrated hydrocarbons tax at 15%, with combined rates of 20% for greenfield projects, 25% for extra-heavy oil, 30% for non-producing brownfields and 35% for producing brownfields. Qualifying offshore projects and developments incorporating upgrading or refining infrastructure may receive reductions of up to five percentage points.
“Venezuela is seeing a lot of interest as a result of aggressive fiscal and regulatory changes that are making the country more attractive,” Scott Gilbert, Non-Executive Chairman of Apertura Energy, told the AEW forum.
Companies entering through a CPPH will need a locally incorporated entity, and securing marketing authorization early gives operators greater control over revenue. U.S. companies also structure contracts around the conditions attached to Treasury general licenses, which govern how payments and contract law are handled in deals with PDVSA.
VEW 2027 will put those terms on the table in Caracas, with the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and PDVSA, both patrons of the event, meeting investors across two conference days and a day of site visits. By February, PDVSA’s year-end contracting drive is expected to have produced additional agreements, giving investors a clearer picture of how the revised contractual and fiscal frameworks are being applied in practice.
VEW 2027 takes place February 22–25 at the Simon Bolivar Convention Center in Caracas. Organized by Energy Capital&Power and taking place under the patronage of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, PDVSA and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, VEW is the country’s flagship oil and gas investment platform. To register or learn more about sponsorship and speaking opportunities, visit www.VenezuelaEnergyWeek.com.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.
