CARACAS, VENEZUELA (By Piero Stewart, Editores Latin Petroleum, 19.Sep.2026, Words: 267) — Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with France’s TotalEnergies.
This is the latest in a series of oil agreements signed between multinational oil companies and the Venezuelan government following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the US on 3 Jan. 2026.
At the moment, no details about the agreement with TotalEnergies were immediately available, El Nacional reported on 19 Sep. 2026.
However, the meeting took place in the presidential office, where Rodríguez received executives from the French company. Paula Henao, minister of hydrocarbons, and Héctor Obregón, president of the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), also participated in the meeting.
Following the meeting, a MOU was signed between PDVSA and TotalEnergies, within the framework of strategic cooperation focused on the hydrocarbons sector. Francisco Javier Loyo, Senior Vice President for the Americas at TotalEnergies, attended on behalf of the French oil company.
According to the limited information released from Miraflores Palace, the agreement constitutes a new cooperation mechanism between Venezuela and TotalEnergies, which has a presence in at least 130 countries.
The signing comes amidst the Venezuelan government’s efforts to attract new investments to the energy sector and expand the participation of international companies in the oil industry. Rodríguez has maintained that the country has favorable legal conditions for new investments, alluding to the reforms applied to the Organic Hydrocarbons Law at the beginning of 2026.
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By Piero Stewart reporting from Caracas. © 1999-2026 Energy Analytics Institute (EAI) and its 100% owned Venezuelan affiliate Editores Latin Petroleum CA. All Rights Reserved.
