Eni has signed a 25-year contract with Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA to become the exclusive operator of the Junín-5 heavy-oil field in the Orinoco Belt. The Italian energy company will manage the field’s technical, financial and commercial activities. Junín-5 contains an estimated 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place but produces only 12,000 barrels per day. The agreement replaces the previous Petrojunín joint-venture structure, in which PDVSA held 60% and Eni 40%. Venezuela’s reformed hydrocarbons law gives foreign and domestic companies greater autonomy to operate fields, market production and receive oil-sale proceeds. The deal was signed during U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s visit to Caracas as foreign investment in Venezuela’s oil industry resumes. Chevron separately plans to invest $7 billion over five years and more than double Venezuelan output to 600,000 barrels per day by 2031. Eni had previously targeted production of 240,000 barrels per day at Junín-5, but the goal, initially set for 2018, was not achieved. The Financial Times reported that Eni plans to invest about $1.5 billion annually while expanding the project. Eni has operated in Venezuela since 1998 and also owns interests in the Perla offshore gas field with Repsol and a 26% stake in PetroSucre.