Two European companies that stayed when others fled
En un momento de transición política sin precedentes, Venezuela apuesta por la inversión extranjera como palanca para reconstruir su maltrecha industria energética. El gobierno interino de Delcy Rodríguez ha firmado un acuerdo estratégico con Repsol y Eni en torno al campo marino Perla, uno de los mayores yacimientos de gas de América Latina, buscando no solo estabilizar el suministro interno sino proyectar al país como exportador regional de energía. Es el gesto de una nación que, tras años de aislamiento, intenta recuperar su lugar en la economía global a través de la certeza jurídica y el diálogo con el capital privado.
- Venezuela lleva años al borde del colapso energético: la red eléctrica depende de un suministro de gas que el país no ha podido garantizar por sí solo.
- La captura de Nicolás Maduro en enero abrió una ventana política que el gobierno interino está aprovechando a toda velocidad para reformar leyes y atraer inversión extranjera.
- Repsol y Eni, que resistieron cuando otras empresas abandonaron el país, se convierten ahora en socios estratégicos privilegiados con acceso al proyecto Cardón IV, que produce 580 millones de pies cúbicos de gas al día.
- Repsol ha anunciado planes para triplicar su producción de crudo hasta los 135.000 barriles diarios, una apuesta que exige estabilidad operativa y confianza sostenida en el marco legal venezolano.
- El acuerdo no es solo energético: es la señal que Rodríguez quiere enviar a los mercados internacionales de que Venezuela está abierta, reformada y dispuesta a cumplir sus compromisos con los inversores.
El gobierno interino de Venezuela firmó esta semana un acuerdo estratégico con Repsol y Eni para impulsar la producción y el suministro de gas en el proyecto Cardón IV, una empresa conjunta que opera el campo marino Perla, uno de los mayores de América Latina con 580 millones de pies cúbicos de producción diaria. La negociación fue liderada por la presidenta interina Delcy Rodríguez, quien enmarcó el pacto como prueba de que Venezuela puede ofrecer certeza jurídica y condiciones atractivas a los operadores internacionales serios.
El contexto político es inseparable del acuerdo. Tras la intervención militar estadounidense de enero y la captura de Nicolás Maduro, el nuevo gobierno ha actuado con rapidez: reformó la ley de hidrocarburos y abrió la puerta a la inversión privada que administraciones anteriores habían bloqueado sistemáticamente. Repsol y Eni, que mantuvieron presencia en el país cuando otras compañías se retiraron, son ahora los primeros beneficiarios de ese giro.
La ministra de Energía, Paula Henao, y el presidente de PDVSA, Héctor Obregón, firmaron el acuerdo junto a directivos de ambas empresas europeas. El objetivo inmediato es asegurar el suministro interno de gas, del que depende directamente la estabilidad de la red eléctrica venezolana. Pero la visión a largo plazo apunta más lejos: convertir a Venezuela en exportador regional de gas y recuperar así capacidad económica y peso geopolítico en América Latina.
Repsol, con más de tres décadas de operaciones en el país, llega a esta nueva etapa con infraestructura e institucionalidad que otros no tienen. La compañía ya anunció planes para triplicar su producción de crudo hasta los 135.000 barriles diarios. Lo que reste por ver es si la estabilidad política se consolida y si las garantías legales prometidas resultan suficientes para sostener la confianza inversora a largo plazo.
Venezuela's interim government signed a strategic agreement this week with Spanish oil giant Repsol and Italian energy company Eni, betting that foreign investment and technical expertise can revive the country's battered energy sector. The deal, negotiated by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, centers on Cardón IV, a joint venture operating the Perla offshore gas field—one of the largest in Latin America and currently producing 580 million cubic feet of gas daily.
The timing matters. The agreement arrives in a new political moment for Venezuela. In January, the United States conducted a military intervention that led to the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro. Rodríguez's government has moved quickly to signal openness to the international capital markets and private enterprise that previous administrations had largely shut out. The hydrocarbon law was recently reformed. Repsol and Eni, both of which maintained operations in Venezuela when others withdrew, are now positioned as trusted partners in what the government is framing as a cooperative model based on dialogue and legal certainty for investors.
The Perla field matters because Venezuela's electrical grid depends on steady gas supply. Domestic consumption has been a constant challenge; the country cannot afford to lose production capacity. But the agreement also points toward something larger: Rodríguez's government wants Venezuela to become a regional gas exporter, a way to generate hard currency and rebuild economic leverage in Latin America. The deal promises to secure internal supply while creating room for export ambitions that have been dormant for years.
Venezuela's energy minister, Paula Henao, signed the agreement alongside PDVSA president Héctor Obregón and senior executives from both European firms, including Francisco Gea Pascual de Riquelme, Repsol's head of exploration and production. Rodríguez used the occasion to praise the two companies for staying in Venezuela when others fled, framing the partnership as evidence that the country remains attractive to serious international operators.
Repsol has already signaled its own ambitions. The company announced weeks earlier that it had obtained the necessary licenses to resume daily operations and was preparing to restart. Its chief executive, Josu Jon Imaz, made clear that the immediate priority is maintaining and increasing gas supply to stabilize Venezuela's power system, but the longer-term play is crude oil. Repsol says it plans to triple its oil production in Venezuela over the coming years, reaching roughly 135,000 barrels daily—a significant jump that would require sustained investment and operational stability.
For Repsol, the agreement consolidates an already strong position. The company has operated in Venezuela for more than three decades and enters this new phase with institutional knowledge and existing infrastructure that newer entrants lack. The Cardón IV project has become central to the government's energy roadmap: a production platform large enough to meet domestic needs, attract foreign capital, and serve as the foundation for Venezuela's renewed push to become a gas power in the region. What happens next depends on whether the political stability holds and whether international investors believe the legal protections the government is promising will actually stick.
Citações Notáveis
Two European companies that stayed in Venezuela, believed in Venezuela, and did not turn their backs on our people— Interim President Delcy Rodríguez
The immediate priority is maintaining and increasing gas supply to stabilize Venezuela's power system, with longer-term focus on crude oil production— Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a gas field in Venezuela matter to anyone outside the country right now?
Because Venezuela's power grid is collapsing without it. Gas keeps the lights on. But also because this deal signals something bigger—the government is trying to convince the world that it's open for business again after years of isolation.
And Repsol stayed when others left. That's the story the government is telling.
Exactly. It's a narrative about loyalty rewarded. But it's also practical—Repsol knows the field, knows the people, knows how to operate there. They have thirty years of history. That's worth something.
What's the real prize here—gas for export, or just keeping the lights on at home?
Both, but the export dream is the bigger one. Gas exports mean hard currency, which Venezuela desperately needs. Domestic supply is the foundation, but exports are the ambition.
Is this actually going to work? Can Venezuela really become a gas exporter?
That depends on whether the political stability lasts and whether investors believe the government will honor its promises. The agreement is signed, but execution is everything. One political shock and the whole thing could unravel.
What does Repsol get out of this?
Access to one of the largest offshore gas fields in Latin America, and a chance to triple their oil production. In a market that's been closed to them, that's enormous. They're betting the new government is serious about reform.
So this is really about Venezuela trying to prove it's changed?
Yes. The interim government is using energy deals to signal that the old model—state control, isolation, hostility to foreign capital—is over. Whether that signal sticks depends on what happens next.