Venezuela is best known for its heavy and extra-heavy crude reserves, but energy officials are calling for more exploration of its lighter crude and condensate resources to help boost output overall.
"At this point we are putting more exploration efforts into light and medium crudes to leverage our production," energy minister Paula Henao told potential investors earlier this month in Houston, Texas.
Lighter crude is essential as diluent for heavy and extra-heavy crude production, but Venezuela only produces about 200,000-240,000 b/d oflighter crude of about 30°API out of its 1.2mn b/d of total output, a source in state-owned PdV said.
Venezuela has long needed to import diluent, typically naphtha, for blending, with the US now supplying about 75,000 b/d so far in 2026, based on Kpler ship tracking data. It will need more than twice that much if it wants to meets it goal of increasing output to 3mn b/d by 2030. Lighter crude can also help fill this gap.
Every 10,000 b/d shortfall in Venezuela's naphtha can reduce crude export capacity by 25,000–30,000 b/d, Argus Consulting estimates.
About 86pc of Venezuela's reserves of 303bn bl are extra-heavy crude in the Orinoco oil belt, but there are also lighter reserves, Henao highlighted.
To Tomoporo
Venezuela has long pinned its hopes for more lighter crude production on the Tomoporo field, nicknamed the "giant of the west". It lies in the states of Zulia and Trujillo in the Lake Maracaibo oil-producing region.
The field has both onshore and offshore wells, with reserves of 2.5-2.65bn bl of crude of about 32° API and condensate as well as associated gas from the Misoa formation.
Tomporo was producing about 150,000 b/d in 2004, but that has fallen to 50,000-55,000 b/d, based on PdV data seen by Argus from the Tomoporo as well as the adjoining Barua and Motatan fields.
Lack of investment, mismanagement and even theft of equipment including copper cable have hurt output there, industry source have said.
Spain's Repsol has been the primary foreign operator in that field since 2004, but US sanctions limited its operations.
In April Repsol agreed to assume operational control at its Petroquiriquire oil asset, which has encompassed the Tomoporo field and La Ceiba fields since 2024, under relaxed US sanctions. Repsol holds a 40pc share and PdV the remaining 60pc.
Repsol in 2024 said it planned to invest $400mn to rehabilitate existing wells and raise output by 20,000 b/d.
