ENI Confirms Plans to Boost Oil and Gas Production in Venezuela Under New Law

Italian energy giant ENI has signaled its strong intent to expand its oil and gas operations in Venezuela, positioning the South American nation's projects as central to its global portfolio. The company's ambitious plans include a substantial increase in oil production, aiming to reach 200,000 barrels per day from a single field in the near future, a significant leap from its current output of 12,000 barrels per day.

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In America, we continue to advance important opportunities in Argentina and Venezuela, which, along with our current positions in Mexico and the United States, represent an increasingly important component of our exploration and production portfolio.

ENI's strategic move is bolstered by Venezuela's recently enacted hydrocarbon legislation, which the company expects to provide a more favorable operating environment. Claudio Descalzi, ENI's CEO, expressed confidence in scaling up production and capitalizing on the advantages offered by the new legal framework. The company's existing Venezuelan ventures encompass the Perla gas field, operated in partnership with Repsol, the Junín heavy oil field in the Orinoco Belt with a 40% stake alongside Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and the Corocoro field located in shallow waters off the eastern coast.

These plans were detailed during ENI's quarterly corporate results announcement and subsequent investor conference. The company highlighted a memorandum of understanding signed in April with Venezuela's Ministry of Hydrocarbons and PDVSA to revitalize their joint oil activities. This includes efforts to recover outstanding payments from PDVSA related to gas supplies from the Perla field, although the exact amount owed remains unclear.

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In Venezuela, we are finalizing negotiations for new contracts for Junín 5 and Corocoro, which must be adapted to the new conditions created by the brand-new Hydrocarbons Law and its regulations.

ENI's report also noted significant progress in other parts of the Americas, including Argentina, Mexico, and the United States. However, Venezuela remains a key focus, with ENI finalizing negotiations for new contracts for the Junín 5 and Corocoro fields. The company estimates Venezuela's potential recoverable resources to exceed 5.5 billion barrels, underscoring the strategic importance of its Venezuelan operations.

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In conjunction, our presence in Venezuela offers exceptional gross potential of more than 5.5 billion barrels of recoverable resources.