US Firms Sign Oil, Gold Deals in Venezuela at G20 Summit
Continental Resources and Heeney Capital secure Venezuelan resource rights with Trump administration backing.
KEY POINTS
- Continental Resources signs MoU with PDVSA for Ayacucho 2 block (30B barrels) in Orinoco Belt
- Heeney Capital secures 30-year rights for Chocó gold mine in Bolívar state with up to $1B investment
- Deals signed in Houston during G20 energy meeting with Trump administration backing
- Mercuria Energy partners with Heeney Capital; prior estimate of $2.2B annual mineral exports
- Follows January political shift and August bilateral oil agreement for 65B barrel fields
US energy firm Continental Resources signed a memorandum with Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA on Wednesday to develop the Ayacucho 2 block in the Orinoco Belt, estimated to hold 30 billion barrels of reserves. The agreement was finalized during a G20 energy ministers meeting in Houston with support from the Trump administration.
Simultaneously, New York-based investment firm Heeney Capital secured a 30-year agreement to operate and export gold from the Chocó mine in Bolívar state's El Callao district. The deal projects an initial investment of up to $1 billion and includes partnership with commodities trader Mercuria Energy.
“The decision of a company of the scale of Continental to partner with PDVSA sends a powerful signal of confidence in Venezuela.”
Venezuelan Vice President of Economy Calixto Ortega stated the Continental deal sends a powerful confidence signal to international energy majors. He noted it builds on recent momentum, including a bilateral oil agreement announced in August granting US control over fields with 65 billion barrels of potential.
Continental founder Harold Hamm said the company is accustomed to technical challenges, referencing its role in the shale revolution. Heeney Capital and Mercuria previously indicated in May that their Venezuelan ventures could mobilize approximately $2.2 billion annually in mineral exports.
The agreements follow the political shift in January that removed Nicolás Maduro and mark a significant expansion of US private capital into Venezuelan extractive sectors. Chevron also expanded its Venezuelan operations in April following a hydrocarbons law reform opening the sector to foreign investment.
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