Italian energy company Eni has signed a programmatic agreement with Venezuela’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons and state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) to relaunch oil activities at the Junín-5 project in the Orinoco Belt, marking another step in Venezuela’s renewed push to rebuild its hydrocarbons sector.
The agreement was announced after a meeting in Caracas between Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi and Delcy Rodríguez, Acting President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The meeting was also attended by Venezuela’s Minister of Hydrocarbons, Paula Henao, and PDVSA Chief Executive Officer Héctor Obregón. According to Eni, Descalzi updated Venezuelan officials on the company’s current activities in the country and outlined future prospects and opportunities.
Junín-5 is located in the Orinoco Belt, one of Venezuela’s most important heavy oil regions. The project is held 60% by PDVSA and 40% by Eni, and Eni said the field contains 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place.
The agreement comes as Venezuela seeks to attract renewed foreign participation in its oil and gas industry. Reuters reported that PDVSA’s key partners have been signing preliminary agreements to confirm interest or expand projects as the government advances a broad review of industry contracts under an oil reform process. Chevron, Shell and Repsol have also signed similar agreements in recent weeks.
The Junín-5 relaunch is also notable because the original PetroJunín concept was previously designed as a large integrated development, combining upstream heavy oil production with a dedicated downstream component. The current agreement is focused on relaunching oil activities at Junín-5, while the future of the downstream component remains unclear.
Eni’s Venezuelan portfolio also includes natural gas and offshore oil interests. The company operates the Perla field in the Cardón IV licence through Cardón IV, a company jointly owned by Eni and Spain’s Repsol. Eni describes Perla, located in the Gulf of Venezuela, as the largest offshore gas field discovered in Latin America.
Cardón IV recently signed a Sustainability Agreement aimed at continuing and relaunching Perla production, increasing volumes for Venezuela’s domestic market and creating a possible outlet for future exports. Reuters separately reported that the Eni-Repsol joint venture is seeking to raise natural gas output at Cardón IV from about 580 million cubic feet per day to 645 million cubic feet per day through drilling and infrastructure improvements.
Eni also holds a 26% stake in PetroSucre, the joint venture that operates the Corocoro offshore field, while PDVSA holds 74%. The company also has a stake in Supermetanol, a petrochemical company involved in methanol production.
The company has been present in Venezuela since 1998 and currently holds six mining licences in the country, located offshore in the Gulf of Venezuela and the Gulf of Paria, as well as onshore in the Orinoco region. In 2025, Eni’s hydrocarbon production in Venezuela amounted to 64,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, mainly from the Perla gas field, which Eni said represents approximately 35% of Venezuela’s total gas consumption.
The agreement adds to recent signs of renewed international interest in Venezuela’s hydrocarbons sector. For Eni, it strengthens its position in a country where it already has established upstream, gas and petrochemical exposure. For Venezuela, the deal supports efforts to restore production capacity, attract investment and reactivate major oil and gas assets after years of operational and financial constraints.