Under US sanctions, Caracas has turned to China for investment and crude sales. (@AlertaMundoNews)
Caracas, September 9, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – China Concord Resources Corp. (CCRC) installed the first self-elevating offshore platform in Maracaibo Lake, located in western Zulia state, Venezuela’s second-largest oil-producing region.
According to reports, the Alula jackup rig is expected to boost crude production in the lake from the current 12,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 60,000 bpd by 2026. The oilfields are Lago Cinco and Lagunillas Lago.
CCRC has also deployed a drill rig and skilled personnel to operate the offshore platform and intends to invest more than US$1 billion in infrastructure rehabilitation, well reopening, and new drilling between the two oilfields. The goal is to develop approximately 500 wells.
The two oilfields will operate under a 20-year production-sharing contract signed in May 2024 between the Chinese private enterprise and Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA. Under this agreement, light crude will be allocated to PDVSA for domestic use, while heavy crude will be exported to China.
This production-sharing model is reported to be more flexible than traditional joint ventures, allowing private entities greater control over crude operations and sales.
In 2023, Caracas and Beijing upgraded their countries’ relations to an “all-weather strategic partnership,” a high category reserved by the Chinese government for important diplomatic partners. Venezuela is the first Latin American country to reach this level.
In recent years, Venezuela has actively pursued increased Chinese investment in its oil sector as US sanctions continue to strangle the country’s most important revenue source. Since 2017, the US Treasury Department has imposed financial sanctions, an export embargo and secondary sanctions on PDVSA.
Venezuelan oil exports to the US virtually ceased around 2019, and the Caribbean country shifted much of its oil trade to China, which became its largest buyer. Shipments are made directly and indirectly via ship-to-ship transfers, with independent Chinese refiners often benefiting from substantial discounts on Venezuelan crude.
US imports of Venezuelan heavy crude have increased following a special waiver granted by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to Texas-based Chevron to resume limited production and exports in its Venezuela joint ventures, where it holds minority stakes.
The license was withdrawn in May. Two months later, the White House reversed course again, issuing a new specific license allowing Chevron to resume restricted operations.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s oil exports have shown a steady upward trend, reaching a recent peak of 966,458 barrels per day (bpd), the highest figure since November 2024 and marking a nine-month increase. China-bound cargoes accounted for 85 per cent of last month’s sales, with approximately 60,000 bpd delivered to the US and around 29,000 bpd to Cuba.
Venezuela is home to the world’s largest known oil reserves, estimated at 303 billion barrels.
Edited by Cira Pascual Marquina in Caracas.
