BP

Caracas, August 14, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government has granted an offshore natural gas concession to a consortium of British multinational BP, the United Arab Emirates’ XRG, and Qatar’s UCC.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez held an agreement-signing ceremony and press conference on Thursday alongside executives of the three corporations on Wednesday.

“I salute this historical moment and thank you for setting up this consortium to achieve such an important agreement for Venezuela and the global energy community,” she said. 

Rodríguez emphasized Caracas’ decision to prioritize natural gas ventures to supply the domestic market and boost exports. However, state energy company PDVSA is not a stakeholder in the project.

The multinational consortium was granted rights to drill in the so-called second phase of the Loran field, in the Deltana Platform off Venezuela’s Atlantic coast, with reserves estimated at 4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). Loran shares its deposits with the Manatee field in the territorial waters of Trinidad and Tobago. They hold 7.3 and 2.7 Tcf of natural gas, respectively.

The first phase of Loran’s exploration was granted to Shell, which is also operating on the Manatee side and expects to produce 4.4 Tcf from the two fields. Both phases are to be developed concurrently. Shell has additionally secured a concession to run the 4 Tcf Dragon field.

“The award of the Loran Phase 2 license […] builds on the strong collaboration we have established with the government of Venezuela and our partners and reflects the progress we have made together,” BP CEO Meg O’Neill stated during the televised event.

The London-headquartered multinational has aggressively pursued Venezuela natural gas opportunities. BP is also set to operate the 1 Tcf Cocuina-Manakin field alongside Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Company (NGC). BP recently sold 20 percent of its stake in the Cocuina-Manakin project to the NGC.

BP, Shell, and NGC hold respective 45, 45, and 10 percent shares in Atlantic LNG, a major liquefied natural gas project in Trinidad that is expected to process most of the output from the ventures in Venezuelan waters.

On Thursday, BP also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Venezuelan authorities to explore opportunities in the Carúpano East block, which belongs to the Mariscal Sucre offshore natural gas project.

XRG, the international arm of the UAE’s state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has been expanding overseas investments and recently secured a stake in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta development. 

For its part, the UCC is a privately owned Qatari conglomerate with close ties to the royal family. Originally focused on construction and infrastructure, it has gradually expanded its portfolio to energy and mining ventures. The arrival of Qatari and Emirati firms in the South American country reflects Venezuela’s geopolitical realignment since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of President Maduro. During the previous two decades, the Chávez and Maduro governments pursued an eastward-looking policy, deepening ties with Iran, Russia, and China in energy and other strategic sectors while maintaining a predominant state role.

In recent months, energy majors have flocked to Venezuela to strike new deals or renew existing ones following a pro-business overhaul to hydrocarbons legislation. A reformed Hydrocarbon Law slashed royalties and taxes, granted foreign partners control over operations and sales, and subordinated contracts to international arbitration bodies.

Despite the opening to transnational corporations, Venezuela’s oil output has stagnated since May. The latest OPEC monthly report placed the Caribbean nation’s July production at 1.117 million bpd, roughly one percent above the June figure, according to secondary sources.

PDVSA reported an output of 1.200 million bpd, up from 1.187 million bpd the prior month. Direct and secondary measurements have historically differed over disagreements on the inclusion of condensates and natural gas liquids.

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Philadelphia, USA.

Published on
14/08/2026 – 10:54 GMT+2

BP is going back into Venezuela.

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The agreement signed in Caracas on Thursday gives the company operatorship of Loran phase two, an offshore gas project holding more than four trillion cubic feet of proven gas resources, with Abu Dhabi’s XRG, Qatar’s UCC Oil and Gas Holding taking equal stakes beside it.

It is the clearest signal yet that the opening of Venezuela’s energy industry to foreign capital, underway since Maduro’s removal, is gathering pace.

All three companies will hold equal working interests, with BP as operator, and the licence remains subject to regulatory approvals.

PDVSA Gas, the state producer’s gas arm, transferred part of its interest to XRG, the international investment vehicle of Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC. For both XRG and UCC, a unit of the Qatari conglomerate of the same name, this marks a first entry into Venezuela.

The field itself is shared as Loran forms the Venezuelan portion of the Loran-Manatee accumulation, which straddles the maritime boundary with Trinidad and Tobago and holds roughly 10 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in total.

Shell won the licence for the first phase in June and is separately developing Manatee on the Trinidadian side, where first gas is expected next year.

BP says both Venezuelan phases will now be developed in parallel and signed a further memorandum of understanding covering exploration at the Carúpano East Block.

The agreements were concluded during a visit to Caracas by CEO Meg O’Neill and David Campbell, BP’s senior vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean.

A sector reopened under US pressure

The licences are the product of a bargain struck with Washington.

After Maduro was seized by US forces in January, interim president Delcy Rodríguez rewrote the country’s energy law at the Trump administration’s urging, opening the world’s largest proven oil reserves to foreign firms.

In return, the US relaxed sanctions that had frozen most Western investment, including the licences it revoked from BP, Shell and Chevron in 2025.

Eni, Repsol and Shell have all signed since.

The awards process stalled after the earthquakes of 24 June, which killed more than 6,300 people, and resumed only on Thursday, when the three Loran permits were issued and the agreements signed.

“I have a special interest in gas to promote national development,” Rodríguez said at the ceremony, which was broadcast on state television.

BP is not a newcomer as it held a licence for the Cocuina field from 2024, before Washington withdrew its permission to use it.