Venezuela's oil output projected to more than double by 2027 as Chevron commits $7 billion

Venezuela holds more than 300 billion barrels of crude reserves, roughly 20% of the world's total, yet produces around 1% of global output because of twenty-five years of political instability and deteriorating field infrastructure. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News Digital that Operation Absolute Resolve, the 30-minute military action on January 3, has cleared the path to close that gap: national Venezuelan energy production will more than double by the end of 2027, Wright projected, speaking on the sidelines of the RNC Midterm Convention in Dallas.

Where Chevron fits in the production stack

Chevron is the primary commercial vehicle. Its press release puts the company's commitment at more than $7 billion over five years, with Venezuelan oil output targeted to more than double to 600,000 barrels per day. That production, according to the White House, will flow through U.S. refineries using American rigs and infrastructure, with thousands of American jobs expected alongside.

Wright described the operation's commercial logic plainly. Capturing Maduro and his wife Flores, he said, gave the U.S. considerable sway over an existing government that can now facilitate foreign investment. He acknowledged the current Venezuelan administration falls short of ideal but said U.S. influence is sufficient to push in the direction it wants. War Secretary Pete Hegseth called Operation Absolute Resolve a "massive joint military and law enforcement raid" that lasted less than 30 minutes.

Eight million Venezuelans fled the country during Maduro's rule, Wright noted. "People tried to beg, borrow, bribe, anything they could to change the Venezuelan government," Wright told Fox News Digital. "No luck."

The Hormuz backdrop

Wright pointed to the disruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, tied to the conflict with Iran, as the broader supply context in which the Venezuela opening matters. His argument is that building production capacity in Venezuela alongside Canada, Guyana, and Mexico shifts the center of global supply toward the Western Hemisphere, with the U.S. positioned to process and profit from that volume. The average U.S. price for regular gasoline reached about $4.22 a gallon on Wednesday, per AAA, up from roughly $3.19 a year earlier.