BP has announced plans to develop the second phase of the Loran gasfield offshore Venezuela in partnership with companies connected to the Trump administration. The project involves collaboration with a Qatari firm owned by billionaires working with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner on an Albanian resort development, as well as the overseas investment division of the UAE’s national oil company headed by the Gulf state’s industry minister.
The deal positions BP among the first major international oil firms to undertake large-scale operations in Venezuela following recent political changes. Shell previously secured a license to develop the initial phase of the Loran field earlier in the summer, while Italian oil company Eni is also engaged in discussions regarding Venezuelan oil projects. BP’s chief executive characterized the license as a significant development in the company’s partnership with the Venezuelan government.
BP is part of a broader wave of European oil companies returning to Venezuelan operations after the Trump administration called for foreign firms to invest at least $100 billion in rebuilding the nation’s fossil fuel sector. American firms ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have begun exploring opportunities in the country, though they have proceeded cautiously given Venezuela’s nationalization of its oil industry in 2007. Chevron maintained operations as a minority stakeholder in the state oil company throughout this period.
The licensing agreement followed approximately four months after BP agreed to collaborate with Venezuelan authorities on gas development exploration. The arrangement represents one of the inaugural major transactions completed by BP’s newly appointed chief executive, a US-born former ExxonMobil executive who took office recently. Since the leadership transition, Venezuelan crude output has increased to approximately 1.2 million barrels daily, with exports to American refineries reaching their highest levels since 2019, according to available data.
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