Italian energy company Eni SpA has finalized a 25-year agreement with Venezuelan state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA, known as PdVSA, granting Eni exclusive operator status over the Junín-5 heavy oilfield in the Orinoco Belt.

The deal, executed during a visit to Venezuela by United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright, marks a significant restructuring of the Italian company's position in one of the country's most resource-rich hydrocarbon areas.

A Field of Considerable Scale

The Junín-5 oilfield holds 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place and currently produces approximately 12,000 barrels per day, according to Eni.

The field sits within the Orinoco Belt, a region long recognized as holding some of the largest heavy oil accumulations in the world.

The new contract, known as a Contrato de Participación Productiva de Hidrocarburos, or CPPH, replaces the existing operating model of the Petrojunín joint venture and finalizes a preliminary agreement that had been executed earlier this year.

The CPPH contract type was introduced under Venezuela's post-Maduro Organic Hydrocarbons Law.

Under the previous structure, Eni held a 40 percent stake in Junín-5 while PdVSA retained 60 percent. The new arrangement fundamentally changes Eni's operational role at the field.

Eni Takes Exclusive Control

The CPPH grants Eni what the company described as the role of exclusive operator of the Junín-5 area, with full responsibility for the technical, financial, and commercial management of the project.

The agreement carries a duration of 25 years with the possibility of extension.

Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi characterized the agreement in broad geopolitical terms. This agreement represents a new pillar for the revival of the country's oil and gas sector, at a historic time when energy security, based on abundant resources and diversified supply routes, is vital to global stability.

The deal was executed during the visit to Venezuela by Energy Secretary Wright, underscoring the role the Trump administration has been playing in facilitating renewed foreign investment in the Venezuelan energy sector.

Eni's Expanding Venezuelan Portfolio

The Junín-5 agreement adds to a growing list of Eni activities in Venezuela. Earlier this year, Eni's 50-50 joint venture with Spain's Repsol SA, operating under the name Cardón IV, signed an agreement to relaunch production at the Perla field in the Gulf of Venezuela.

Perla represents approximately 35 percent of Venezuela's total gas demand and accounted for the bulk of Eni's Venezuelan production, which stood at 64,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the country last year.

Beyond Perla and Junín-5, Eni confirmed it remains a partner with PdVSA in PetroSucre, which operates the Corocoro offshore field. The company also retains a stake in Venezuelan methanol producer Supermetanol.

Chevron Announces Parallel Investment of Over 7 Billion USD.

The announcement of Eni's finalized CPPH came alongside a separate but concurrent announcement from Chevron Corp, which revealed new agreements for its joint ventures in Venezuela amounting to more than 7 billion USD in investment over the next five years.

The agreements, which followed negotiations facilitated by the U.S. government, are expected to more than double American oil production in Venezuela to approximately 600,000 barrels per day.

The country is being positioned as a low-cost production base, with estimated total costs of less than 20 USD per barrel and access to a substantial resource base.

As part of the new arrangements, the Petroindependencia SA joint venture will develop the adjacent Carabobo-1 and Carabobo-2-South-A areas in the Orinoco Belt. Chevron described these sites as greenfield locations that expand the joint venture's existing operational footprint, where it is increasing extra-heavy oil production.

Broader Significance for Venezuela's Oil Sector

The simultaneous announcements from Eni and Chevron represent a notable moment in the ongoing effort to revitalize Venezuela's oil and gas sector following years of output decline and international sanctions. Both companies cited the role of U.S. government engagement in enabling the new deals to move forward.

For Eni, the transition from a minority stakeholder in Petrojunín to exclusive operator of Junín-5 under the new CPPH framework consolidates the Italian company's position as a central player in Venezuelan upstream development.

The CPPH structure, introduced under the new legal framework established after the Maduro government's exit, appears to be a key instrument through which Venezuela is attracting and restructuring foreign participation in its hydrocarbon sector.

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