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Big Oil moves back into Venezuela as BP wins offshore licence

8/14/2026

Less than nine months after the United States toppled Caracas's ruling strongman, British energy company BP has been named among the winners of an offshore exploration licence in Venezuela.

An offshore licence is government permission to search for and extract oil or gas beneath the seabed.

BP's selection is part of what the industry is describing as a broader return by major international oil companies to a country they had left behind under the previous government.

What BP actually won The word "licence" matters here. An offshore licence is a legal right to explore, not a contract to produce.

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