Spanish energy company Repsol has reached a new agreement with PDVSA and the government of Venezuela that will allow it to take back operational control of a key producing asset and sharply increase its crude output in the country.

The arrangement enables Repsol to resume operatorship of the Petroquiriquire joint venture, where it owns a 40 per cent stake, while PDVSA holds the remaining 60 per cent. The deal builds on a framework first signed in 2023 and later expanded in 2024 to cover the Tomoporo and La Ceiba fields.

Repsol currently produces about 45,000 barrels of oil per day in Venezuela, mostly from Petroquiriquire. With the new agreement in place, the company plans to raise output by 50 per cent within the next 12 months and aims to triple production over the next three years, depending on stable operating conditions.

A senior company executive said Repsol’s long presence in Venezuela, dating back to the early 1990s, gives it the technical capacity, workforce and infrastructure needed to ramp up production quickly.

The development comes as more international oil companies return attention to Venezuela following political changes earlier this year. Chevron recently restructured its holdings in the country through an asset swap with PDVSA as part of a consolidation plan.

Repsol’s renewed push has been made possible by fresh general licences issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, allowing it to carry out oil and gas transactions in Venezuela under the current sanctions regime.