Continental Resources Signs Major Venezuela Deal with PDVSA

Continental Resources, a major Bakken Shale operator, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA to operate and develop the Ayacucho 2 Block in the Orinoco Belt, the company announced Wednesday. According to OilPrice.com, the block holds an estimated 30 billion barrels of resource in place across roughly 126,000 acres in Anzoátegui state.

The two sides intend to finalize a long-term "Contrato de Participación Productiva" agreement in the coming weeks, after which Continental will operate the block with a 100% working interest. CEO Doug Lawler called Ayacucho 2 "one of the most significant resource opportunities in Continental's nearly 60-year history," according to the report. Founder and Chairman Emeritus Harold Hamm said the agreement takes the company "to an entirely new level."

The deal is part of a series of agreements following the Trump administration's call for American energy companies to help rebuild Venezuela's oil industry, OilPrice.com reported. It comes shortly after Chevron committed more than $7 billion over five years to roughly double its own Orinoco Belt output to 600,000 barrels a day. Venezuelan officials have stated such deals could generate more than $200 billion, with near-term private investment estimated at nearly $100 billion.

While Continental holds core U.S. positions in the Bakken, Anadarko, Powder River, and Permian basins, this marks its first entry into Venezuela. The company has recently expanded internationally into Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale and a joint venture in Turkey. Venezuela holds the world's largest proven crude reserves but produced only 742,000 barrels a day last year, a 70% decline from 2013 levels, due in part to sanctions that barred international companies from applying technical expertise to its heavy oil.

For North Dakota, the move highlights the global ambitions of a homegrown Bakken giant. Continental's deepening international portfolio, now spanning South America and the Middle East, diversifies its asset base beyond its historic Lower 48 onshore focus, which includes the Bakken formation. The deal signals Continental is deploying capital and operational expertise abroad in pursuit of large-scale, long-term resource plays.

In a separate deal also reported on Wednesday, Turkish firm Çan2 Termik's subsidiary Minerosol Group signed a 20-year agreement with PDVSA to take over production at the CEMA field in Anzoátegui state under a $381.7 million investment plan, targeting an increase from about 400 barrels a day to 9,865 barrels a day.