PDVSA and TotalEnergies Sign Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Cooperation

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 19, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) and TotalEnergies E&P New Ventures, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, signed a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation in Caracas. The agreement was signed by Héctor Obregón, President of PDVSA, and Francisco Javier Rielo, Senior Vice President for the Americas at TotalEnergies' Exploration and Production business. Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez and Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, attended the signing event. The Venezuelan government characterized the agreement as a cooperative arrangement established between the two parties in the energy sector.

The signing parties were not TotalEnergies Group directly entering into a specific oilfield development contract with the Venezuelan government, but rather PDVSA and TotalEnergies E&P New Ventures signing a memorandum of understanding. Information released by Venezuela's foreign ministry only confirms that the agreement pertains to energy cooperation; it has not disclosed specific oil or natural gas projects, block names, investment amounts, equity ratios, production targets, or project implementation timelines. A Reuters report on September 19 likewise indicated that the specific commercial and project terms of the agreement have not yet been made public.

Based on the currently disclosed contract stage, this signing remains at the memorandum of understanding stage and cannot yet be equated with an oil and gas block development contract, a production participation contract, or a final investment decision. The Venezuelan government had already advanced the signing of multiple oil and gas projects in 2026, some of which have entered more specific contract stages. For example, PDVSA and GeoPark have signed a 25-year production participation contract for the Baré block in the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt, while Continental Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with PDVSA on September 16 for the development of the Ayacucho 2 block and plans to continue advancing toward a long-term production participation contract.

In the announcement of this signing, the Venezuelan government mentioned that the new Organic Hydrocarbons Law passed earlier this year constitutes the current legal framework for attracting energy investment. At this stage, PDVSA and TotalEnergies E&P New Ventures will next enter the phase of determining specific cooperation projects, asset scope, and commercial conditions, but the two parties have not yet announced a timeline for subsequent contract signings.