ONGC Videsh Moves to Take Over Venezuelan Fields as PDVSA Cedes Ground
India's ONGC Videsh is set to take operational control of two Venezuelan oil projects, testing whether foreign operators can fix a grid-dependent production system fast.
India's ONGC Videsh Ltd is set to take over operation of two Venezuelan oil projects from state-owned PDVSA, giving the Indian producer direct operational control over assets in a country that still holds the world's largest proven crude reserves at roughly 303 billion barrels.5,6
The move follows the Washington-led removal of former president Nicolás Maduro on 3 January and a push by US firms to expand output under President Donald Trump's new energy order. OVL already holds a 40% stake in the San Cristobal oilfield, where PDVSA owns the remaining 60%.6,5
Chevron has set the template. Output across its three Venezuelan joint ventures has risen 12% year on year to 280,000 bpd over the past six months, and the US major expects production to climb another 50% to 420,000 bpd by the end of 2028. That growth followed the mid-April announcement of an asset swap with PDVSA under which Chevron received an additional 13.21% interest in Petroindependencia, lifting its total stake to 49%.6
The broader numbers are moving, but from a deep hole. July saw average crude production by PDVSA and its foreign partners rise 20,000 bpd to 1.21 million bpd, according to Ministry of Hydrocarbons data. In the early 2000s the country was pumping over 3 million bpd.6
Getting back anywhere near that level will be expensive and slow. Rystad, an energy consultancy, estimates that reaching 3 million bpd would require $183bn in investment. Venezuela's inflation hit 618% in February, the highest rate in the world, which does little to attract the capital needed.2
The more immediate constraint is physical, not financial. New regulations drafted for Venezuela require energy companies to bring their own power plants to run oil and natural gas operations, shielding them from frequent blackouts on the ill-maintained national grid.3
The dependency is stark. More than 95% of one US major's wells in the Orinoco fields depend on the nationwide grid, and less than 5% of the area's oil rigs are powered by generators, one person familiar with operations said. Every major power failure disrupts production at scale.3
That is the operating environment ONGC Videsh will inherit. Taking over from PDVSA gives the Indian firm control over scheduling and procurement, but it also transfers responsibility for keeping output running through a grid that cannot be trusted and a power supply regime that now demands self-sufficiency.5,3
There is competition for the best assets. Repsol signed a new agreement with Venezuela's Hydrocarbons Ministry and PDVSA in June to assess development of an area southeast of Lake Maracaibo, near its existing portfolio.4
Shell has signed preliminary agreements to develop gas fields, and Chevron in the week of 18 May (2026-05-18) handed some offshore oil and gas fields to PDVSA in exchange for a bigger position elsewhere.2
For India, the play is strategic. ONGC Videsh taking operational control aligns with New Delhi's broader push to secure overseas crude supplies, but the timing matters. Washington is acquiring 50 million stockpiled barrels from Venezuela, worth perhaps $2bn, and US firms are clearly first in line for the most attractive opportunities.1,6
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Chevron as "obviously at the front of the pack" among investors hoping to profit from Venezuela's reopening. ONGC Videsh's entry puts an Indian state-controlled firm in the same game, but with a harder task: the San Cristobal field and the other project it would operate are not the crown jewels.1
Foreign operators who can run their own generation will have an advantage over those relying on PDVSA's infrastructure, and Chevron's output target of 420,000 bpd by end-2028 depends on resolving exactly that problem. August production data from the Ministry of Hydrocarbons — due in the coming weeks — will show how far the 20,000 bpd July gain holds once operators start running their own generation at scale.6,3