Eni and Repsol discovered Perla in 2009 within the Cardón IV license, which they hold in equal shares. With an estimated 17 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas in place, it ranks as Latin America's biggest offshore gas discovery. In July 2015, Perla became the first offshore gas field brought into production in Venezuela.

Perla was developed about 50 km offshore in the Gulf of Venezuela, with satellite platforms tied into a central hub platform through 14-inch flowlines. From the hub, a 30-inch export pipeline runs 67 km to an onshore processing plant near Punto Fijo, where the gas is treated before it enters PDVSA's pipeline network.

Through that system, Perla has become a cornerstone of Venezuela's domestic energy supply. The field produces about 580 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d), and Eni says it accounts for roughly 35% of national gas consumption. Its gas fuels power generation and petrochemical production across western Venezuela, but that domestic role may also be setting the timeline for the field's future growth.

Under terms reported by Bloomberg, exports can only begin once Perla delivers 645 mmcf/d to domestic buyers and total output reaches 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d). Repsol's project manager said in April that a second development stage, combining new wells with infrastructure upgrades, would lift capacity to that domestic threshold. This new stage represents the nearest-term contracting opportunity on the field and will be a focus for service companies attending VEW 2027.

To reach the desired export volumes, Eni and Repsol plan to install a further two production platforms by 2028 and ship LNG from a floating liquefaction facility by the end of 2031. Eni brings comparable experience from projects in Congo and Mozambique. Perla's plan forms part of a wider push toward Venezuelan LNG, including Baker Hughes' October 5 announcement of a deal with PDVSA, which aims to open the potential for the country's first LNG exports. Gas-sector growth will be another focus of the VEW 2027 program in Caracas.

Bloomberg also reported that Eni and Repsol are considering selling part of their stakes to help fund the expansion. A sale would give a new partner an undisclosed share of the producing field with a defined path to export. VEW 2027's investment forums and bilateral meetings are well positioned to host discussions of that scale, with a program built for partnerships and connecting capital with the operators and officials who are directing Venezuela's biggest gas projects.

With domestic expansion underway and a 2031 export date set, Perla is positioned to deliver the country's first LNG cargoes in the near future. VEW 2027 will bring PDVSA, the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and the field's prospective partners together in Caracas to usher the project into its next phase.