Venezuela signed a memorandum of understanding with TotalEnergies on Saturday to
pave the way for the French group's return to the country's oil operations, the
government said. The ceremony in Caracas saw the agreement signed by the head of
Venezuela's state oil company (PDVSA) and TotalEnergies' Americas senior vice
president; TotalEnergies said subsidiary TotalEnergies E&P New Ventures will
participate in the energy projects. TotalEnergies and partner Equinor withdrew
from the Petrocedeno project in 2021 during a wave of foreign exits; CEO Patrick
Pouyanné said at the time the withdrawal reflected the company's
carbon-reduction strategy rather than Venezuela's political situation.
