Washington-Backed Oil Push Recruits Venezuela's Workers

Oilfield service companies are advertising dozens of jobs in Venezuela as a Washington-backed plan to rebuild the country’s energy industry gains traction following the capture of then-President Nicolas Maduro in January. The hiring push is putting workers and equipment back in motion under a plan promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, which aims to revive the oil industry with $100 billion in investment.

The companies move first

Weatherford International, Baker Hughes, Halliburton and SLB are taking steps to bring workers, rigs and equipment into the country. Major producers, meanwhile, have said they need political stability and clear legal rules before committing large sums. Service companies are moving into position, but those conditions still shape the decisions of larger producers.

Weatherford listed at least 20 open positions, mostly in the oil and gas hubs of Anaco and Maturin, on its careers website. The jobs, first advertised the previous month, included operation supervisors, drilling specialists and engineers. Weatherford scaled back its Venezuelan presence in 2019 after U.S. sanctions led many foreign oilfield service firms to shut down or reduce operations, lay off or transfer staff, and remove equipment.

SLB listed 35 vacancies in Anaco, Maturin and Caracas, with postings dating back about six months. Halliburton said in early October that it was seeking to expand its talent network in Venezuela. SLB declined to comment, and Halliburton didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

State deals, corporate plans

Baker Hughes had a dozen openings in Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second-largest oil region. This month, the company signed an agreement with state-run PDVSA, engineering firm Lindsayca and developer Fulcrum LNG to reactivate gas infrastructure. A Baker Hughes spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on personnel.

A source said Weatherford was set to host a ceremony with Eni this month, after Eni agreed with PDVSA in September to expand in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt. Eni has engaged Weatherford to help increase production, the source said. Weatherford and Eni didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Hiring hasn’t brought a broad return of equipment. Only two drilling rigs were active in Venezuela in October, according to Baker Hughes data, though equipment is starting to return from a low base. North American Blue Energy Partners, a U.S.-backed company, said it received two drilling units the previous week. Chevron was expected to activate four soon.

Patterson-UTI, one of the largest U.S. land drilling contractors, said it was shipping components for 10 older rigs. CEO Andy Hendricks said the company hadn’t used that type of rig in the United States for about 15 years. “It’ll be fine for Venezuela,” Hendricks said in an interview the previous week.

A forecast built on time and labor

Welligence Energy Analytics said deployments through the end of 2027 are expected to focus mostly on workover rigs, which crews use to reopen and repair wells at mature fields. Combined with expansion plans by major oil companies, the approach could raise crude output to about 1.5 million barrels per day by late 2027, from about 1.2 million bpd at the time of the report.

The forecast rests on investment plans, company expansion and repairs to existing wells. Andres Armijos, Welligence’s head for Latin America, described the outlook as cautious: “We are being cautiously optimistic,” he said, referring to the investment plan and recent job postings. “In reality, this will take time.”