BP has announced plans to develop the second phase of the Loran gasfield off Venezuela’s coast in partnership with two oil companies connected to the Trump administration. The London-listed oil firm will collaborate with a Qatari company owned by the Al-Khayyat brothers, billionaires working with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner on a resort project in Albania, as well as the overseas investment unit of the UAE’s national oil company headed by industry minister Sultan Al Jaber.
The move positions BP among the first large-scale international oil companies to return to Venezuela following recent geopolitical developments. Rival Shell secured rights to develop the first phase of the same gasfield earlier in the summer, while Italian company Eni is also in discussions regarding oil projects in the region. American firms ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have begun exploring opportunities, though they have moved cautiously given Venezuela’s 2007 nationalization of its oil industry. Chevron has maintained operations as a minority partner with the state oil company.
BP Chief Executive Meg O’Neill, a US-born former ExxonMobil executive, characterized the licence as an important development reflecting progress in the company’s relationship with Venezuela. The agreement followed an earlier accord to explore potential gas development, making it one of O’Neill’s first significant achievements since assuming leadership.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves but has experienced significant industrial decline over recent decades due to underinvestment and mismanagement. Production fell from over 3.5 million barrels daily in the late 1990s to approximately 1 million barrels per day. Recent months have seen output climb to 1.2 million barrels daily, with US refinery exports reaching their highest levels since 2019.
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