HOUSTON/CARACAS - Aug 25 - SLB, the U.S.-based oil services and technology firm, has secured contractual rights to access and overhaul Venezuela’s oilfield data, according to sources close to the negotiations. The arrangement with state-run PDVSA is intended to consolidate, digitize and upgrade the country’s extensive but aging databases, the sources said.
The scope of work described by the sources ranges from reservoir characterization to real-time production monitoring. SLB will manage data and provide services aimed at making Venezuela’s oil information more complete and usable than it has been in recent years. The companies have not published a full account of the contract’s reach, but the sources said the work will include deploying newer technology - including artificial intelligence - to expand and modernize records and analytics.
"The agreement’s goal is to help PDVSA and the oil ministry to digitize and consolidate all data of the oil industry," one source said. The same source added the contract covers technology transfer and training. The arrangement, the source said, would allow a potential new entrant to obtain oilfield data stored in a cloud-based system rather than relying on ad hoc paper files or isolated internal systems.
Data gaps and damage
Venezuela has not published routine oil statistics in more than a decade; the latest annual bulletin from the oil ministry dates to 2015. Apart from limited monthly output figures provided to OPEC, the country’s public oil statistics are sparse. That lack of transparency has complicated both efforts to attract investment to Venezuelan fields and the ability to monitor production, refining and exports.
PDVSA’s information systems suffered a ransomware attack late last year that disrupted a range of applications, from email to contract administration software. The attack, combined with years of neglect, left the company struggling to maintain centralized records. Sources said staffers have resorted to free-access communication platforms such as Telegram and that many facilities are operating without an integrated system.
"Functionality is in recovery phase, but lots of data were lost due to damages to the servers," one of the sources said. "Some data needs to be rebuilt from paper copies." While PDVSA has patched core applications in recent months, the company needs to migrate its geological and production databases to new providers and adopt modern monitoring tools, the sources added.
Contract terms and payment uncertainty
Key elements of the SLB-PDVSA contract remain undisclosed, including its length and precise payment arrangements. During negotiations, payments in kind - including payment with crude oil - were discussed with SLB, the sources said. Any cash transfers are expected to be difficult because the United States controls proceeds from Venezuela’s oil exports, curtailing the Venezuelan government’s flexibility in negotiating financial terms.
Last week, officials from Venezuela’s oil ministry and the U.S. embassy in Caracas confirmed that an agreement had been signed with SLB to "modernize exploration and production." William Antonio, SLB’s head for Mexico, Central America and Venezuela, said at a conference in Houston that the contract with PDVSA took effect immediately after it was signed. Neither company has provided further public details, and representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sanctions, past defaults and operational workarounds
Washington imposed strict sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector in 2019. In the years around and since those measures, PDVSA defaulted on billions of dollars in overdue payments to service providers, including oilfield service firms such as SLB. Companies that now opt to work with PDVSA are reportedly taking steps to reduce the risk of recurring payment problems.
Sanctions have also forced PDVSA to adopt a patchwork of software and application fixes to bypass restrictions blocking some U.S. technology providers from contracting directly with Venezuela’s state companies. These interim workarounds have created a complicated IT environment that SLB must contend with as it migrates and consolidates data systems.
Despite these constraints, SLB is expected to be the first external firm to gain comprehensive visibility into PDVSA’s primary statistics, which observers say have been tightly held for decades. The contract’s success will depend on how effectively SLB can reconstruct lost data, integrate disparate systems and implement robust tracking tools under the operational and financial limits described by the sources.
Outlook
The agreement positions SLB to play a central role in rebuilding Venezuela’s oil data infrastructure, but it leaves open several important questions about financing, timelines and the extent of data restoration. For now, SLB’s access marks a notable shift in the availability of Venezuela’s oilfield information and could alter how the industry and potential investors evaluate Venezuelan assets if the data are restored and made accessible as described by the sources.