Two European companies that believed in Venezuela and did not turn their backs
Décadas de promesas incumplidas y desinversión han dejado a Venezuela —sentada sobre una de las mayores reservas de petróleo del mundo— con una infraestructura energética en ruinas. Ahora, tras la captura de Nicolás Maduro en enero de 2026 y el levantamiento de sanciones estadounidenses en febrero, la española Repsol ha firmado un acuerdo estratégico con el gobierno interino venezolano para triplicar su producción de gas en el yacimiento Cardón IV, junto a su socia italiana Eni. Es un momento en que la geopolítica, el capital privado y la fragilidad institucional convergen en una apuesta calculada sobre si Venezuela puede, esta vez, cumplir la promesa de su propia riqueza.
- Venezuela posee reservas petroleras inmensas pero su infraestructura lleva años en colapso: incendios frecuentes en instalaciones, producción desplomada y una red eléctrica que depende en casi un 50% del gas que Repsol ya suministra.
- La captura de Maduro en enero y el alivio de sanciones del Tesoro estadounidense en febrero abrieron una ventana política que parecía impensable hace apenas un año.
- Repsol, que lleva más de tres décadas en el país y produce actualmente 45.000 barriles diarios, firmó esta semana un acuerdo para escalar esa cifra a 135.000 barriles en dos o tres años, con Eni como socia y el respaldo explícito del gobierno interino de Delcy Rodríguez.
- El acuerdo llega semanas después de que el CEO de Repsol prometiera personalmente a Donald Trump invertir más en Venezuela, en una reunión en la Casa Blanca donde Washington convocó a los grandes ejecutivos petroleros mundiales.
- La apuesta es ambiciosa pero incierta: la estabilidad política del arreglo actual no está probada, y la infraestructura deteriorada exigirá inversiones cuantiosas antes de que cualquier promesa de producción pueda materializarse.
Hace apenas unos meses, el presidente ejecutivo de Repsol se sentó frente a Donald Trump en la Casa Blanca y prometió algo concreto: triplicar la producción de gas de la compañía en Venezuela en un plazo de dos a tres años. Trump había convocado a los grandes ejecutivos petroleros del mundo para animarlos a invertir en un país cuya industria energética se había marchitado durante décadas de mala gestión. Esta semana, Repsol convirtió esa promesa en contrato.
El jueves, la compañía firmó un acuerdo estratégico con el gobierno interino venezolano, encabezado por Delcy Rodríguez, centrado en la expansión de la producción en Cardón IV, la empresa conjunta que Repsol opera junto a la italiana Eni. Rodríguez anunció el acuerdo en televisión estatal y elogió a ambas firmas europeas por no haber abandonado el país cuando otros sí lo hicieron. El objetivo es pasar de los 45.000 barriles diarios actuales a unos 135.000, con el gas resultante destinado tanto al consumo interno —Repsol ya abastece cerca de la mitad de la red eléctrica venezolana— como a futuras exportaciones.
El contexto político es inseparable del acuerdo. En enero de 2026, una operación militar estadounidense capturó a Nicolás Maduro, alterando de raíz el panorama de gobernanza del país. En febrero, el Departamento del Tesoro levantó las sanciones sobre el sector petrolero venezolano y emitió licencias que permitieron a compañías como Repsol reanudar operaciones. Con Washington supervisando el comercio de hidrocarburos, el gobierno interino comenzó a abrir la puerta a la inversión extranjera.
Repsol lleva más de treinta años en Venezuela y conoce bien tanto el potencial como las limitaciones del país. Las reservas probadas son de las mayores del mundo, pero la infraestructura está gravemente deteriorada: instalaciones que se incendian con regularidad, producción hundida por falta de mantenimiento y capital. El acuerdo firmado esta semana es, en esencia, una apuesta doble: Repsol y Eni apuestan a que la transición política y la supervisión estadounidense crean condiciones suficientemente estables para justificar una inversión masiva; el gobierno interino apuesta a que ese capital internacional puede revertir décadas de declive. Los próximos años dirán si ambas partes acertaron.
Repsol's chief executive sat across from Donald Trump at the White House a couple of months ago and made a bold promise: the Spanish energy company was ready to invest more heavily in Venezuela and triple its gas production there within two or three years. The president had summoned the world's major oil executives to encourage them to pour capital into Venezuela's petroleum industry, which had withered under decades of mismanagement and chronic underinvestment. This week, Repsol moved from conversation to contract.
On Thursday, the company signed what it called a strategic agreement with Venezuela's interim government, led by Delcy Rodríguez. The deal centers on expanding gas production at Cardón IV, a joint venture between Repsol and Italy's Eni. Rodríguez announced the arrangement on state television, framing it as a way to secure gas supplies for Venezuela's domestic needs while opening the door to future exports. "This way, Venezuela continues on the path to becoming a gas-producing nation," she said. She also took a moment to praise the two European firms for staying put when others had fled. "I am very pleased that this is being done by two European companies that remained in Venezuela, that believed in Venezuela and did not turn their backs on our people."
The timing matters. Just one month earlier, in mid-February, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control had lifted sanctions on Venezuelan oil and granted Repsol and other global energy companies licenses to conduct business in the country's petroleum and gas sectors. That relief came in the wake of a dramatic shift in Venezuela's political landscape: on January 3rd, a U.S. military operation had captured former president Nicolás Maduro, fundamentally altering the country's governance. With Washington now overseeing Venezuela's oil trade, the interim government began issuing general licenses that allowed foreign companies to resume operations.
Repsol has maintained a presence in Venezuela for more than three decades, operating fields like La Perla and others. The company currently produces 45,000 barrels of crude daily from its Venezuelan operations and supplies gas that sustains roughly half of the country's electrical grid. In his remarks to Trump, Repsol's chief executive emphasized the company's dual commitment: as a Spanish firm, he noted, Repsol had invested $21 billion in American oil and gas over the past fifteen years. But in Venezuela, with Eni as a partner, the company possessed the personnel, facilities, and technical capacity to scale up significantly. The plan is to triple output to around 135,000 barrels daily over the next two to three years, contingent on substantial new investment.
Venezuela sits atop one of the world's largest proven oil reserves, yet its infrastructure has deteriorated badly. Fires break out regularly at production facilities. Output has collapsed due to lack of capital and maintenance. The interim government is betting that foreign investment, now permitted under the new political arrangement, can reverse that decline. Repsol had already signaled its intentions a week before signing the agreement, noting in a strategic presentation that its investment projections through 2028 could be substantially increased by improved conditions in Venezuela, where the company's long history gives it an advantaged position and where newly issued U.S. licenses now permit the resumption of oil and gas work.
The agreement represents a calculated wager on Venezuela's energy future. Repsol and Eni are betting that the political transition, coupled with U.S. oversight and sanctions relief, creates a stable enough environment to justify major capital deployment. For the interim government, the deal signals that international capital is willing to return. Yet Venezuela's infrastructure remains fragile, and the durability of the current political arrangement remains untested. The next two to three years will reveal whether this strategic partnership can deliver on its promise to revive one of the world's most oil-rich but chronically troubled energy sectors.
Citas Notables
We are ready to invest more in Venezuela and triple production there in the next two or three years— Josu Jon Imaz, Repsol chief executive, speaking to President Trump at the White House
I am very pleased that this is being done by two European companies that remained in Venezuela, that believed in Venezuela and did not turn their backs on our people— Delcy Rodríguez, interim president of Venezuela
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Repsol stay in Venezuela when so many other companies left?
They had deep roots—more than thirty years of operations, major fields like La Perla. They also had technical capacity and local expertise that would be expensive to rebuild elsewhere. But staying through the Maduro years was a calculated risk.
What changed on January 3rd that made this deal suddenly possible?
The U.S. military captured Maduro. That shifted everything. Washington moved from maximum pressure to managed transition, and suddenly sanctions relief became a tool for reshaping Venezuela's economy under American oversight.
So this isn't really about Repsol believing in Venezuela—it's about U.S. geopolitics?
Both things are true. Repsol needs the investment opportunity and the political cover. The interim government needs foreign capital to prevent collapse. And Washington wants to stabilize the oil sector without letting it slip back to anti-American control. The deal works because all three parties benefit.
Can they actually triple production in two or three years?
That's the real question. The infrastructure is broken. There are fires, leaks, chronic underinvestment. Tripling output requires not just money but sustained security and political stability. If either fractures, the whole plan stalls.
What does Delcy Rodríguez get out of this?
Legitimacy and cash flow. She needs to show that the interim government can attract investment and restore basic services—electricity especially. Repsol's gas supplies half the grid. More production means more stability, which buys her time to consolidate power.
Is this the beginning of Venezuela's recovery?
It's the beginning of a test. The agreement is real, the capital is real, the need is real. But Venezuela's history is full of false starts. This one has better conditions than most—U.S. backing, European partners, clear incentives. Whether it holds depends on things no contract can guarantee.