Venezuela signs 25-year oil pact with Colombia's Gilinski, GeoPark for Orinoco block

Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, has entered into a 25-year agreement with Colombia's Grupo Gilinski and oil producer GeoPark to develop the Bare block in the Ayacucho field of the Orinoco Oil Belt. The deal was formalised in Caracas on Friday in a ceremony led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

Under the terms of the agreement, GeoPark — whose majority shareholder is Grupo Gilinski — will assume the full investment required for the project. The pact was signed by Grupo Gilinski's president, Jaime Gilinski, and PDVSA's vice president, Jovanny Martínez.

Speaking at the event, Gilinski framed the investment as a long-term commitment, stating that the agreement reflects a belief in Venezuela's future and the potential of its natural resources. He added that the company's history in banking, food, and infrastructure across Latin America has shown that sustainable results come from long-term commitments and respect for local communities.

Rodríguez welcomed the Colombian investment as a vote of confidence in Venezuela's laws and regulations, and as part of broader efforts to recover the country's oil industry and boost production. She said the goal is the social and economic well-being of the Venezuelan people through sovereign negotiations, and that such contracts would eventually leave the country with new infrastructure.

The Bare block is one of seven in the Ayacucho field and holds an estimated 15.7 billion barrels of original oil in place. The wider Orinoco Oil Belt is home to the world's largest crude reserves.

The agreement follows a January reform of Venezuela's Hydrocarbons Law that reduced state control over oil operations and opened the sector to greater foreign investment. The reform came as the U.S. Treasury began easing sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry, expanding the ability of American energy companies to operate in the country.