Two-day visit comes as NABEP's production in the Petrozamora oil fields hit a record 115,000 barrels per day and a sixth drilling rig arrives.
CARACAS, Venezuela, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. State Department officials, including Chargé d'Affaires John M. Barrett, visited the oil fields of North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) in western and eastern Venezuela on Oct. 23 and 24 to see how quickly the company is growing production under its August agreement with the U.S. government.
On Friday, Daniel Kennedy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy and Critical Minerals, joined NABEP CEO Alejandro Betancourt and PDVSA leadership at the Bachaquero field on Lake Maracaibo. The group inspected the Bachaquero Lago 2 compression module and checked on Bachaquero 3 and Ceuta 4, two projects expected to add to NABEP's production there within four months. That same day, NABEP's production in the Petrozamora oil fields reached a record 115,000 barrels per day. Mr. Barrett followed the visit from Miraflores Palace in Caracas. On Saturday, he and Mr. Kennedy traveled to NABEP's Junín 10 block in the Orinoco Belt, where the company's new drilling rigs are at work.
"Less than two months after this historic agreement was announced, our partner NABEP has already ramped up its oil production and brought in new rigs from the United States," said Mr. Barrett. "American rigs are putting Venezuelans to work, and Venezuelan oil is strengthening America's energy security. Both of our countries are winning."
Junín 10, formerly known as Junín Sur, is where most of NABEP's new drilling is taking place. Three drilling rigs are working there today, and three more will start soon, including a sixth rig that recently arrived in Venezuela. NABEP also runs 13 workover rigs for well repair and maintenance, with 15 more on the way.
"Every barrel we produce is the work of Venezuelan hands," said Mr. Betancourt. "From the shores of Lake Maracaibo to the Orinoco Belt, thousands of NABEP workers are bringing these fields back to life. There are real challenges ahead. Some of these fields have been producing for decades, and others have never been drilled. No company knows this ground better than NABEP, and no one is better positioned to unlock what it can produce."
NABEP directly employs more than 5,000 people and supports over 10,000 contractor jobs across Venezuela. Over the past two years, the company has grown production from about 18,000 barrels per day to more than 200,000, funded by roughly $1 billion of its own investment. The same strategy is being used to fund its ongoing production push, with hundreds of millions of dollars more being reinvested every month. As of Oct. 19, NABEP's total hydrocarbon production across its fields reached 223,509 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The visits come after NABEP's August agreement with the U.S. Departments of State and War to significantly expand oil production in Venezuela. NABEP holds the rights to commercialize more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves in the country and is targeting production of more than 1 million barrels of oil per day in the near term.
About North American Blue Energy Partners
North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) is an independent oil exploration and production company operating in North and Latin America, with offices in Caracas, Maracaibo and Lechería. NABEP is committed to the responsible development of energy resources, the safety of its people and the prosperity of the communities where it operates. www.nabep.net
Media contact
press@nabep.com
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U.S. Officials Tour NABEP's Venezuelan Oil Fields: "Both of our countries are winning"
U.S. Officials Tour NABEP's Venezuelan Oil Fields: "Both of our countries are winning"
U.S. Officials Tour NABEP's Venezuelan Oil Fields: "Both of our countries are winning"
HLB's strategic partnership unlocks new possibilities in cross-border banking, connecting customers to established global payment networks and building a foundation to serve them across more markets
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Leong Bank ("HLB" or the "Bank") today marked its strategic partnership with UnionPay International ("UPI"), strengthening global cross-border payment connectivity for customers travelling, conducting business and pursuing opportunities beyond Malaysia. In line with the proposition of "Connecting Borders, Commerce, Ties, and Horizons", the partnership highlights how HLB and payment networks can enable seamless and secure overseas payments and support closer connections between people and businesses across markets.
By leveraging UPI's integrated network with Weixin Pay, the collaboration enables HLB customers to transact effortlessly at over 120 million merchants across Mainland China, as well as participating merchants in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Thailand. Whether shopping at department stores or dining at everyday local stalls, customers can pay directly via HLB QR Pay on HLB Connect. The feature natively complements HLB's existing multi-currency features on the HLB Pay&Save Account, allowing customers to lock-in favorable exchange rates and avoid the hassle of using third-party apps and wallet top-ups.
According to Kevin Lam, HLB's Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, "Our customers take us beyond Malaysia through the businesses they build, the family ties they maintain, and the opportunities they pursue. We want them to have the same confidence paying overseas as they do at home."
"At its core, a cross-border payment only works when trust exists on both sides of the transaction where customers know with certainty that their payment will go through, and merchants trust that they will receive it. Backed by over a century of heritage and innovation in cross-border payments in the community, our priority is ensuring that trust holds wherever our customers go. Partnering with UPI and tapping into their vast international network, including Weixin Pay, allows us to deliver that scale and certainty globally."
Carlson Li, Vice President of UPI, commented, "Our partnership with HLB demonstrates how interoperability can connect different payment ecosystems to deliver practical benefits for customers, where HLB customers can now access a wider merchant network directly from their banking app, making cross-border payments more convenient and supporting commerce between markets. We look forward to building on this partnership to extend payment accessibility, connect more customers and merchants, and create further opportunities for collaboration across the region."
Driven by rapid digital innovation, cross-border payments have expanded well beyond conventional cards and currency exchange, giving consumers more versatile, frictionless ways to transact internationally.
Underscoring the Bank's focus on customer-centric digital solutions, Andrew Jong, HLB's Managing Director of Personal Financial Services, said, "Digital innovation has fundamentally changed how people move and spend money abroad, unlocking greater convenience and flexibility than ever before. We recognise that customers have different payment preferences and needs when travelling across markets. Our focus is on ensuring our solutions remain relevant to those dynamic needs, giving customers true choice, security, and continuity wherever they go. This partnership with UPI is a key milestone in how we leverage innovations and ecosystem partners to expand our suite of cross-border payment capabilities."
HLB's broader cross-border payment offering gives customers multiple ways to pay overseas, including scanning participating merchant QR codes, displaying an in-app QR code for merchants to scan, linking eligible HLB cards to superapps in China like Weixin Pay, making direct credit and debit card payments, and using supported mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay.
The Bank will continue to build on its international collaborations to expand payment connectivity and support customers as their needs and ambitions grow across markets.
For more information, please visit: www.hlb.com.my/UnionPayQR
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Hong Leong Bank Strengthens Cross-Border Payment Connectivity through Partnership with UnionPay International
