Chevron lands in Caracas the same week it expands its Orinoco position

Chevron flew its Boeing Business Jet, tail N884GL, from Sugar Land Regional Airport to Maiquetía Simón Bolívar International Airport on May 25, 2026, a 4-hour-26-minute trip to the Venezuelan capital. The flight arrives the same week the company is deepening its bet on the Orinoco Belt, having announced an asset swap with PDVSA that increased its stake in Petroindependencia to 49% and added contiguous acreage at Ayacucho 8, per [last10k.com](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/cvx/0000093410-26-000110.htm). Chief Executive Mike Wirth, who has described Venezuela as still “1% to 2% of cash flow from operations,” has called the country an “option for the future.”

The timing of the visit follows Chevron’s first-quarter earnings call on May 1, 2026, where executives noted the swap was finalized two weeks before the call, and reiterated that the ~$1.5 billion receivable from PDVSA likely pays off by 2027 before serious capital reallocation. The company also faces a newly settled legal case in Texas over aging wells on Antina Ranch, which was resolved out of court in late May, per the [houstonchronicle.com](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/chevron-settlement-zombie-well-antina-ranch-texas-21223347.php), though the terms remain confidential.

Recent flight records show Chevron’s fleet has been busy shuttling between Houston and the Permian Basin — the coordinates map to Midland and Carlsbad — with five trips in the last six days alone. The Caracas visit, by contrast, is a rarer long-haul move, suggesting senior leadership is on site to press the flesh on the PDVSA deal and assess the political landscape firsthand.