Eni SpA has entered into a 25-year agreement with Venezuela’s state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PdVSA) to restart and expand activities at the Junin-5 oil field, a heavy oilfield located in the Orinoco Belt. According to Italian state-backed Eni, Junin-5 holds 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place and is currently producing about 12,000 barrels per day. The agreement was executed during the visit to Venezuela by United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright and establishes a new Contrato de Participación Productiva de Hidrocarburos (CPPH) between Eni and PdVSA.
The Junin-5 oil field CPPH replaces the existing operating model of the Petrojunin joint venture and completes a preliminary argeement executed earlier in 2026. The new contractual framework was introduced through the post-Maduro Organic Hydrocarbons Law.
Under the previous operating structure, Eni owns 40 percent in Junin-5 while PdVSA holds 60 percent. Eni said the new agreement provides for a 25-year term, with the possibility of extension, while assigning the company exclusive operational responsibility for the area.
“The CPPH, which has a duration of 25 years with the possibility of extension, grants Eni the role of exclusive operator of the Junin-5 area, with full responsibility for the technical, financial and commercial management of the project”, Eni said in an official online statement.
Eni Maintains Broader Venezuelan Operations
Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi said, “This agreement represents a new pillar for the revival of the country’s oil and gas sector, at a historic time when energy security, based on abundant resources and diversified supply routes, is vital to global stability”.
The Junin-5 oil field agreement adds to Eni’s existing activities in Venezuela. Earlier this year, Eni’s 50:50 Venezuelan joint venture with Spain’s Repsol SA signed an agreement to relaunch production at the largest offshore gas field discovered in Latin America, as announced by Eni April 28. The Perla field in the Gulf of Venezuela is operated through the joint venture Cardón IV.
Perla, which represents about 35 percent of Venezuela’s gas demand, accounted for the bulk of Eni’s production of 64,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the country last year, according to Eni.
Eni and PdVSA also remain partners in PetroSucre, which operates the Corocoro offshore field, Eni confirmed when announcing the new CPPH. In addition to upstream assets, Eni retains a stake in Venezuelan methanol producer Supermetanol. The company also said it currently holds six mining licenses in the Gulf of Venezuela and the Gulf of Paria, as well as onshore Orinoco.
