The London-listed oil company holds a licence to develop the field alongside a Qatari company owned by the Al-Khayyat brothers, the Syrian-born billionaires working with Ivanka Trump, the US president\u2019s daughter, and her husband, Jared Kushner, to build a controversial multibillion-dollar resort in Albania<\/a>.<\/p>\n BP will also work alongside the overseas investment arm of UAE\u2019s national oil company run by the industry minister, Sultan Al Jaber, who in 2025 promised Trump that the Gulf state would increase its investments in the US energy sector more than sixfold to $440bn (\u00a3325bn) within a decade.<\/p>\n The deal makes BP one of the first large-scale international oil firms to return to Venezuela<\/a> after rival Shell secured a licence to develop the first phase of the Loran field earlier this summer. Caracas is also in talks over oil projects with the Italian oil company Eni.<\/p>\n Meg O\u2019Neill, BP\u2019s chief executive, described the licence as \u201can important step forward\u201d in the company\u2019s collaboration with Caracas, which \u201creflects the progress we have made together\u201d.<\/p>\n BP is one of a handful of European oil firms that have returned to the basin since Trump called for foreign oil companies to invest \u201cat least $100bn\u201d to help rebuild and tap Venezuela\u2019s oil resources<\/a> after capturing the country\u2019s former president.<\/p>\n The US oil companies ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have begun scouting opportunities in Venezuela, but have been slower to play a role in its fossil fuel revival after the Latin American country nationalised the industry in 2007. Chevron remained in the country as a minority partner to Venezuela\u2019s state oil company and has continued to produce crude.<\/p>\n BP\u2019s licence was awarded almost four months after it agreed to work with the Venezuelan government to explore potential gas development. It was also one of the first big agreements struck by O\u2019Neill, a US-born former ExxonMobil executive, in her first month at the helm.<\/p>\n O\u2019Neill said: \u201cBP has a longstanding presence in the region and deep experience developing major gas resources. Together, these agreements provide a strong foundation to progress Venezuela\u2019s offshore gas potential and unlock the next phase of development.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/500.jpg\")
<\/p>\n