Eni and Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA have signed a new hydrocarbon production agreement covering the development of the giant Junín 5 oil field in the Orinoco Belt.
The “Contrato de Participación Productiva de Hidrocarburos”
(CPPH) was signed in Venezuela in the presence of Acting President Delcy
Rodríguez, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Venezuelan Hydrocarbons
Minister Paula Henao, alongside PDVSA CEO Héctor Obregón and Eni CEO Claudio
Descalzi.
The agreement completes a process launched in April 2026
through the signing of Heads of Terms, aimed at reviving production at Junín 5
by replacing the existing Petrojunín joint venture model with a new contractual
framework introduced under Venezuela’s Organic Hydrocarbons Law.
Under the 25-year CPPH, which can be extended, Eni will
become the exclusive operator of the Junín 5 area, assuming full responsibility
for the project’s technical, financial and commercial management.
Junín 5 is a heavy oil field in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt
with 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place.
The field currently produces around 12,000 barrels per day.
The new agreement is intended to provide a framework for
increasing production and developing the field’s substantial reserves, while
strengthening Eni’s role in Venezuela’s upstream oil sector.
Claudio Descalzi, Eni Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“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.
Venezuela can now embark on a path of energy development and economic growth
that can bring significant benefits to the local population and to global
energy availability. The operatorship of an important area such as Junín 5 is
recognition of our ability to deliver complex projects quickly and efficiently,
and it reinforces our long-standing presence in the country, which we have
never abandoned, continuing to provide energy to the local population even
during the most difficult times.” -OGN/TradeArabia News Service