If the oil remains trapped in tensions of the war in Iran – with strong unknowns on global markets – across the Atlantic another energy front is moving again: in Venezuela Eni reopens a game that could change the regional gas balance.
The Italian group, together with the Spanish Repsol, signed a agreement with the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) to strengthen the exploitation of the Cardón IV offshore field, one of Latin America's largest gas assets. The agreement aims to boost production and investment, with an immediate goal: ensure gas supplies for the country's domestic consumption and prepare the ground for possible exports.
The Return of International Energy to Venezuela
The new impetus for energy investments naxes from political change at the beginning of the year, after the US military operation which led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro and the opening of a transition phase in the country. After the January 3 blitz, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez took over the leadership of Venezuela, while Washington has declared its intention to remain involved in managing the post-Maduro phase and in stabilizing the country.
It is in this context that is more open to foreign investments – and with the energy sector back at the centre of geopolitical balances – that Caracas is trying to revive its oil and gas industry.After years marked by sanctions and instability, the country is once again focusing on partnerships with large international companies like Eni and Repsol, which had maintained their presence even during the most difficult times. The new president Delcy Rodríguez recognized this role, thanking the two European companies that “remained in Venezuela, who believed in Venezuela and who did not turn their backs on our people.”
The Cardón IV project and the Perla deposit
The heart of the agreement is the Cardón IV offshore block, located in the Gulf of Venezuela, where the deposit is located Pearl gas, one of the most important in the region. The field currently produces approximately 580 million cubic feet of gas per day, a capacity that the new agreement aims to increase through further investments and technical improvements.
The project is part of the Venezuela's strategic energy plan for the period 2026-2028, which aims to strengthen domestic production and stabilize domestic natural gas supplies. At the same time, the Venezuelan government aims to consolidate the country's role as a future regional gas exporter.
The Cardón IV asset is an already industrially consolidated project. The Perla offshore field, developed also thanks to Eni's technology, is located in relatively shallow waters in the Gulf of Venezuela and is considered one of the most promising gas fields in the region.
Gas for Venezuela today, exports tomorrow
For Eni the agreement represents above all a strategic step for strengthen the energy stability of the South American country and consolidate activities in the long term.
“The agreement announced by the President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, allows us to continue in an economically sustainable manner natural gas supplies to the country through PDVSA during 2026 and to consolidate and expand them in the longer term, contributing to energy stabilization,” the company explained.
But the agreement also opens a broader perspectiveThe agreement in fact provides for the possibility of iIdentify solutions for the export of natural gas and related liquids, provided that the necessary legal and regulatory authorizations are obtained.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to identify solutions for the export of natural gas and liquids, thus strengthening Venezuela's position as a potential regional exporter," Eni added, emphasizing that the evaluation of this opportunity will take into account the experience gained in the construction of large offshore gas liquefaction projects in several countries.
The relaunch of the Cardón IV project is part of an increasingly competitive international energy context, in which the Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has become a key resource for energy security and diversification of supplies.
Venezuela, which owns enormous hydrocarbon reserves and approximately 179 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, is now aiming to revive a sector long held back by political and financial difficulties. And thanks also to the return of major European companies like Eni and Repsol, the South American country is attempting to regain its position as a leading player in global energy markets.
