The western basin remains one of Venezuela’s most established petroleum provinces, with decades of production leaving behind extensive wells, gathering systems, processing facilities and export infrastructure. Years of underinvestment have reduced output dramatically from historical highs, however, creating an investment proposition centered less on discovering new resources than on restoring and optimizing existing ones.

The scale of that opportunity is becoming clearer. In August, S&P Global reported that a new 17-field development agreement between Venezuela and North American Blue Energy Partners covers eight fields in the Maracaibo Basin, alongside nine projects in eastern Venezuela. The company said it plans to expand production across its Venezuelan portfolio to more than one million barrels per day (bpd), with the Maracaibo assets forming a significant part of that growth strategy.

Other operators are already demonstrating the potential of brownfield redevelopment. Boscán, operated by Chevron-led Petroboscán in Zulia State, contains an estimated 1.6 billion barrels of proved heavy-oil reserves, according to Inepetrol. Its development plan explicitly focuses on draining remaining reserves while optimizing existing subsurface and surface infrastructure. Chevron holds a 39.2% interest in the project.

Further north and east, Tomoporo illustrates both the scale of the basin’s resources and the production upside available through rehabilitation. The field holds an estimated 2.5–2.65 billion barrels of approximately 32° API crude, alongside condensate and associated gas. Production, however, has fallen from around 150,000 bpd in 2004 to approximately 50,000–55,000 bpd, according to Argus. That gap between historical production and current output is precisely where the Maracaibo Basin 2.0 opportunity lies.

Repsol is another company moving to capture it. In April 2026, the company agreed with Venezuela and PDVSA to resume operational control at Petroquiriquire, which incorporates the Tomoporo and La Ceiba fields. Repsol said it was prepared to increase gross Venezuelan production by 50% within 12 months and triple it within three years, subject to the necessary conditions. In June, Repsol and PDVSA also agreed to assess the Horcón area southeast of Lake Maracaibo, with the companies identifying potential to add around 20,000 bpd of light crude to existing production.

The basin’s crude quality adds another dimension. Venezuela currently produces only around 200,000–240,000 bpd of light crude, making western the country’s lighter production strategically important for both domestic refining and as a diluent for the country’s vast heavy-oil resources.

For investors, the Maracaibo story is not simply about reviving old fields but about combining mature reservoirs, existing infrastructure, improved operating frameworks, brownfield technology and incremental exploration to generate new production from a basin that has already demonstrated its petroleum potential.

Venezuela Energy Week (VEW) 2027 will examine this “Maracaibo Basin 2.0” opportunity alongside the country’s wider upstream revival, bringing operators, investors, government stakeholders and service companies together to assess where redevelopment capital can unlock the next generation of Venezuelan production. Discussions will explore how brownfield investment, enhanced recovery, infrastructure rehabilitation and new operating partnerships can translate the basin’s remaining resource base into sustained production growth.

For investors and service companies, the event will provide a platform to assess the specific assets, infrastructure requirements and partnership models shaping opportunities across Zulia and the wider Maracaibo region.

Organized by Energy Capital & Power and taking place under the patronage of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, PDVSA and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, VEW 2027 will convene in Caracas on February 22–25.

To register, visit www.venezuelaenergyweek.com.  
To sponsor or exhibit, visit www.venezuelaenergyweek.com/sponsor.