Chevron is nearing agreements to expand its Venezuelan operations by adding two heavy-oil fields to its three existing partnerships with state oil company PDVSA. An announcement is expected Wednesday in Caracas during Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s planned visit, while Halliburton negotiates to provide equipment and services. The arrangement would place Chevron’s partnerships under Venezuela’s updated energy regulations and extend its Petropiar heavy-crude operation into adjacent Ayacucho 8 through a previously negotiated asset exchange. Chevron shares rose 1.05% after the disclosure. The company remains the only major U.S. oil producer operating in Venezuela under exclusive U.S. government authorization, while ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips remain absent after losing assets to nationalization under Hugo Chavez in 2007. The negotiations follow Nicolas Maduro’s removal in January and the Trump administration’s push for U.S. investment to raise Venezuelan output and secure heavy crude supplies. Hunt Oil formalized an extraction agreement earlier this month, while separate U.S.-Venezuelan discussions cover possible American ownership stakes in 17 fields containing about 90 billion barrels of confirmed reserves.