Eni Targets an Additional 200,000 Barrels a Day From Venezuela’s Junin 5 Field After Approval

Key Facts

Eni is advancing development of the heavy-oil Junin 5 field in the Orinoco Belt after signing a production-sharing contract with Venezuela’s PDVSA on September 2, 2026, giving it the role of exclusive operator, according to a company statement. Eni management said during its third-quarter earnings call that it had submitted development plans to Venezuelan authorities and that their approval would precede the final investment decision for the first phase. That phase targets an additional 200,000 barrels a day in total over 24 months after approval and the investment decision. The company did not give a confirmed date for approval; the end of 2026 was raised during the call as a possibility in a question. This means the announced operating timeline begins with completion of approvals and a move to the investment decision, not with the contract signing alone.

The production-sharing contract runs for 25 years, with the option to extend, and gives Eni full responsibility for the project’s technical, financial and commercial management, according to its statement. The arrangement makes the company the exclusive operator of the Junin 5 area, while the final investment decision for the first phase remains conditional on authorities approving the development plans. The process began with the signing of key terms on April 28, 2026, before being completed with the final contract in September. Eni’s chief executive said the agreement represents “a new pillar for reviving the country’s oil and gas sector.” He also described energy security and diversification of supply routes as important to global stability, in the context of his remarks on the agreement.

The field contains 35 billion barrels of oil in place, according to Eni’s estimate when the contract was announced, and was producing about 12,000 barrels a day at the time. These figures put the first phase’s production target far above the field’s output when the agreement was signed, but reaching it requires implementation of the development plan, government approval and an investment decision. Management estimates that reaching 200,000 barrels a day will take between 18 and 24 months from the start of execution. The company then targets an intermediate level of 400,000 barrels a day by the end of 2029. Reaching 1 million barrels a day in mid-2032 or 2033 was described by the company as a possibility for full production, not a level already achieved.

Eni management said Junin 5 would be developed in stages and that arranging logistics and the supply chain would take time. Handling heavy oil requires large quantities of diluent, the company said during the call. It pointed to the potential use of condensates from the Perla gas field and lighter oil from the Corocoro field for this purpose. These existing assets in Venezuela provide synergies with the new project, according to management, while the expansion phases require arrangements for supplies and the necessary operating infrastructure. This is part of a plan that progresses from the first phase to the intermediate level and then to the stated potential for full production.

Eni’s agreements with PDVSA include, alongside the revival of Junin 5 under revised contractual terms, gas exports from the Perla field, according to the company’s earnings statement issued on October 23, 2026. The company said the agreements provide access to about 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in recoverable resources. It also said during the earnings call that 2026 agreements and opportunities added about 4.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent to its rights, with the largest share coming from Argentina and Venezuela. In Venezuela specifically, Eni’s hydrocarbon production was 64,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2025, mostly from the Perla field. This places Junin 5 within the company’s broader portfolio in the country, which includes existing gas operations and a new agreement to develop heavy oil.

At group level, Eni’s core exploration and production business posted annual growth of 7% in the third quarter of 2026, to 1.83 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, according to the company’s results. Venezuelan oil production was about 1.25 million barrels a day in September 2026, according to Reuters, compared with a peak of 3 million barrels a day in the late 1990s. The Junin 5 plan is designed to raise the field’s output gradually, while government approval and the final investment decision remain the next steps before the first phase begins. The announced targets set out a timeline starting with an additional 200,000 barrels a day, then targeting 400,000 by the end of 2029. The company places the 1 million barrels a day level among the potential outcomes for 2032 or 2033.