CARACAS – October 28, 2026 -- North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) lifted output in Venezuela's Petrozamora oil fields to a record 115,000 barrels per day on Oct. 23, as U.S. State Department officials toured its western and eastern operations to check progress under the company's August agreement with Washington.
State Department officials inspect Lake Maracaibo and Orinoco Belt assets
Chargé d'Affaires John M. Barrett and Daniel Kennedy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy and Critical Minerals, visited NABEP sites on Oct. 23 and 24. Kennedy joined NABEP CEO Alejandro Betancourt and PDVSA leadership at the Bachaquero field on Lake Maracaibo, where the group inspected the Bachaquero Lago 2 compression module. Barrett followed that visit from Miraflores Palace in Caracas.
The group also reviewed Bachaquero 3 and Ceuta 4, two projects expected to add to NABEP's production there within four months. On Saturday, Barrett and Kennedy traveled to the Junín 10 block in the Orinoco Belt.
Sixth drilling rig arrives as three rigs work Junín 10
Junín 10, formerly Junín Sur, hosts most of NABEP's new drilling. Three rigs operate there now, and three more will start soon, including a sixth rig that recently arrived in Venezuela. NABEP also runs 13 workover rigs for well repair and maintenance, with 15 more on the way.
NABEP total output reaches 223,509 boe/d as of Oct. 19
NABEP's total hydrocarbon production across its fields stood at 223,509 barrels of oil equivalent per day as of Oct. 19. Over the past two years, the company grew production from about 18,000 barrels per day to more than 200,000, funded by roughly $1 billion of its own investment. Hundreds of millions of dollars more are being reinvested every month to fund the ongoing push.
NABEP directly employs more than 5,000 people and supports over 10,000 contractor jobs across Venezuela.
Washington frames rig imports as jobs and energy-security gain
Barrett said that less than two months after the agreement was announced, NABEP had ramped up production and brought in new rigs from the United States. "American rigs are putting Venezuelans to work," he said, adding that Venezuelan oil strengthens U.S. energy security.
Betancourt acknowledged operational hurdles, noting that some fields have produced for decades while others have never been drilled.
August deal with State and War departments targets 1 million bpd
The visits follow NABEP's August agreement with the U.S. Departments of State and War to significantly expand Venezuelan oil production. NABEP holds the rights to commercialize more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves in the country. It is targeting production of more than 1 million barrels of oil per day in the near term.