Key facts
- Oilfield service companies are advertising dozens of jobs in Venezuela.
- Weatherford International is seeking operation supervisors, drilling specialists and engineers.
- Baker Hughes signed an agreement to reactivate gas infrastructure.
- Patterson-UTI is shipping components for 10 high-spec AC rigs for Venezuela.
Oilfield service companies are advertising dozens of jobs in Venezuela, signaling that a US-backed plan to revive the country's energy industry is gaining traction. Weatherford International, Baker Hughes, Halliburton and SLB are among those hiring, seeking to deploy workers, rigs and equipment.
Weatherford has at least 20 open positions, mostly for the oil and gas hubs of Anaco and Maturin, and is engaged by Eni to help increase production in the Orinoco Belt. Baker Hughes has a dozen openings in Maracaibo and signed an agreement to reactivate gas infrastructure. SLB has 35 vacancies for positions in Anaco, Maturin and Caracas.
Equipment is also starting to return to Venezuela, with North American Blue Energy Partners receiving two drilling units and Chevron expected to activate four soon. Patterson-UTI is shipping components for 10 high-spec AC rigs for use in the country. Welligence Energy Analytics expects deployments to focus mostly on workover rigs to reopen and repair wells at mature fields, which could help lift crude output to 1.5 million barrels per day by late 2027 from the current 1.2 million bpd.