US Energy Secretary Wright says China won’t claim Venezuelan oil revenue

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright declared that China will have no debt claims on revenue from Venezuela’s new oil production, a statement that lands as private companies prepare to sign deals designed to rapidly scale the country’s crude output. The deal landscape taking shape At the center of this realignment is North American Blue Energy Partners, a US-backed firm that has secured 100-year concessions on 17 oil fields previously operated by Chinese and Russian entities. Those fields hold an estimated 65 billion barrels of reserves, a staggering figure that represents roughly one-fifth of Venezuela’s total proven reserves. Venezuela sits atop approximately 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the largest on the planet. Current production sits above 1 million barrels per day. The target is to push past 1.5 million bpd by mid-2027, a roughly 50% increase that would meaningfully change Venezuela’s position in global energy markets. Chevron is eyeing more than $7 billion in investment over five years to ramp its Venezuelan output to around 600,000 bpd. Why China’s claims matter China’s financial relationship with Venezuela has been one of the more unusual creditor-debtor arrang...