Venezuela Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Market Volumes and Forecast by Terrain, Assets and Major Companies, 2021-2025

Venezuela’s total gross crude oil and condensate production was valued at 484,119 bd in 2020, which is expected to show a declining CAGR of more than -7% during the forecast period 2021-2025. The oil and gas sector in Venezuela has been crumbling ever since the government headed by Hugo Chavez fired more than 10,000 experienced workers of Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A (PDVSA) in 2003 and then four years later demanded that PDVSA must have a majority stake in oil and gas projects. Moreover, assets of those international companies that disagree with that change of terms will be expropriated (illegally). That practically stripped the country of both international expertise and investment which the capital-intensive oil and gas sector needs. Production steeply declined. In 2019, the situation became even worse when the US put sanctions on PDVSA to destabilize President Nicolas Maduro. This time, the sanctions targeted PDVSA, Venezuela’s key driver of the economy and principal source of revenue, by forbidding US corporations from doing business with it. The corporation had to find a new way to sell its oil (Asia: China, India), as the US was one of the largest importers of Venezuelan crude oil in 2018, with about 500 thousand barrels per day (mbd) shipped.

Annual crude oil production in Venezuela plunged by 2019. However, this was not the end of bad news for Venezuela, as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country hard in 2020, and with export restrictions, little availability of storage capacity, and only one rig operating it had a deteriorating effect on the country’s oil and gas sector. Venezuelan Merey 16 crude grade was down in April 2020 and high crude inventory accumulated, which resulted in a temporary shutdown of most crude upgraders and production cuts across heavy oil fields in the Orinoco belt. High crude inventories have forced the producers to significantly cut production in May-June 2020. Some ventures completely stopped operations and some curtailed production by more than half and total crude oil production further declined by 40% to a value of 484 mmbd.

Overview of Venezuela crude oil and condensate production

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What are the market dynamics of Venezuela’s exploration & production market?

Venezuela’s economy has been sinking for the past five years and it plummeted in 2020 to the bottom low. The continuous drop in crude oil production upon which the country’s economy is heavily relying on, sanctions imposed by the US government, coronavirus pandemic, corruption in the government, and lack of investment led the country to a collapse. The country’s annual production has gone from an estimated 2.03 million barrels per day (mmbd) in 2017 to a shockingly low 480 mmbd in 2020. Crude oil production is expected to stabilize in the next years as the government has taken measures to revive the economy, like allowing forex trading by loosening currency exchange controls.

However, the oil and gas sector in the country desperately needs investments to renovate the existing facilities, and without a proper exploration program, further production growth is compromised. By the end of the outlook period, crude oil production is anticipated to drop. Venezuela produces most of its hydrocarbons in the form of heavy crude located in the so-called Orinoco Oil Belt situated in the East of Venezuela and where 47% of oil is being produced. Natural gas production in the country represents 30% of the carbohydrate mix and supply has dropped tremendously from 2018 to 2020.

In addition, Rosneft was granted a 30-year concession contract to solely produce gas from Patao and Mejillones fields in December 2017, which is estimated to contain recoverable. However, sanctions imposed by the US on trading arms of Rosneft in February 2020, made the Russian company disengage in any Venezuelan operations by selling its assets in Venezuela to a newly created company owned by the Russian government. Rosneft did not expect to start the development of Patao-Mejillones by 2020 and it is very unlikely that any development will take place before 2022. Another project is Loran which is a trans-border reservoir extending over to Trinidad and Tobago. However, as was announced by Trinidad’s prime minister in February 2020, the unified development of the Loran-Manatee gas field located between the two countries will be terminated due to sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela.

What are the key categories of Venezuela’s exploration & production market?

Venezuela’s crude oil and natural gas production is categorized by terrain into onshore and shallow water. The onshore category accounted for the largest share in crude oil production and shallow Water in natural gas production in 2020. The marketed natural gas production is categorized into onshore, shallow water, and unspecified. The major assets in Venezuela’s crude oil and condensate production include Santa Barbara, Ayacucho (Petropiar), and Zuata Complex. Similarly, the major assets of Venezuela’s marketed natural gas production include Other Fields – East Venezuela, Perla, and Other fields – Maracaibo-Falcon.

Venezuela exploration & production market, by type

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Which are the key players in Venezuela’s exploration & production market?

The key players in Venezuela’s crude oil and condensate production include Petroleos de Venezuela SA, Chevron Corp, the Government of Russia, China National Petroleum Corp, and GPB Global Resources BV. The major companies in Venezuela’s natural gas production consist of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, Repsol SA, and Eni SpA. Petroleos de Venezuela SA was the leading company in both natural gas production, and crude oil and condensate production in Venezuela, in 2020. During the projection period, Chevron Corp will dominate the crude oil and condensate production sectors, while Repsol SA will dominate natural gas production.

Venezuela exploration & production market, by key players

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Market report scope

 Scope

This report provides an overview of Venezuela’s exploration & production sector. The report includes:

• Key details of active and upcoming oil and gas assets in the country
• Recently licensed blocks details, licensed blocks count by company, and latest discoveries
• Latest mergers and acquisitions, and awarded contracts related to the E&P sector in the country

Reasons to Buy

• Gain a strong understanding of Venezuela’s E&P sector
• Facilitate decision making based on strong historical and outlook of oil and gas production data, licensed blocks details, and discoveries
• Assess your competitor’s production outlook and licensed blocks count in the country
• Analyze the latest M&A landscape and awarded contracts related to the country’s E&P sector