Gilinski Group and GeoPark sign 25-year deal to develop Venezuelan oil field

On Friday, September 4, the Colombian Gilinski Group and GeoPark signed a strategic agreement with Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) to jointly develop the Bare oil field, located in the Orinoco Oil Belt, according to Banca y Negocios. The 25-year agreement provides for the technical recovery of a reservoir whose output had declined due to a lack of sustained investment, according to El Nacional.

During the signing ceremony, broadcast on national television, the chairman of the Gilinski Group and majority shareholder of GeoPark, Jaime Gilinski, appeared alongside acting president Delcy Rodríguez. Gilinski said the company has the technical experience and financial strength needed to fund the entire investment required by the project. Also present were the minister of hydrocarbons and other sector officials.

Partnerships of this kind aim to revive the country's hydrocarbon infrastructure in a context in which oil operations face logistical and operational challenges. According to data published by El Nacional, Venezuela maintained its crude exports at 1.17 million barrels per day in August, a volume that at times has been constrained by the condition of export terminals and the quality of the crude processed.

The agreement with Colombian and international capital joins a series of recent deals aimed at expanding private participation in the country's oil industry. These initiatives are unfolding alongside realignments in regional energy trade and seek to inject fresh resources into a sector that is key to the national economy.

Looking ahead, analysts and economic operators say it will be essential to monitor the execution of the committed investment plans and their actual impact on extraction volumes over the medium term, as well as the capacity to absorb technology in the mature fields of eastern Venezuela.