International operators, oilfield service companies and strategic partners are invited to register as commercial partners for the Venezuela Energy Week (VEW) 2027 Deal Room, where companies can pursue joint ventures, service agreements, technology deployments, offtake arrangements and other commercial opportunities.

Taking place February 22–25 at the Simón Bolívar Convention Center in Caracas, the Deal Room will bring international companies into direct discussions with local operators, project developers, asset owners and regional leadership. As international companies re-engage with Venezuela’s oil and gas industry, the platform aims to facilitate project-level discussions and establish commercial relationships spanning upstream development, infrastructure, technology and energy supply.

For international operators and investors, the Deal Room provides an opportunity to identify assets and local counterparties for joint development. Venezuela’s push to increase oil production to 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2026 and 1.5 million bpd in 2027 is creating potential openings for companies with the technical expertise, operational capacity and financial resources to participate in field rehabilitation, enhanced oil recovery, drilling and production expansion. Partnerships with Venezuelan operators can provide a route to developing assets and sharing project responsibilities.

Recent agreements demonstrate how partnerships have already begun to take shape. In September, Chevron secured expanded development rights in the Orinoco Belt, underpinning plans by its Venezuelan joint ventures to invest more than $7 billion over five years. Eni also signed a 25-year contract with PDVSA to assume operatorship of the Junín 5 heavy-oil field, giving the company responsibility for its technical, financial and commercial development.

Oilfield service companies and technology providers can pursue commercial agreements supporting these activities. Demand spans drilling and workover equipment, artificial lift, engineering, digital production systems, reservoir technologies, power solutions and other services required to restore production and improve the performance of existing infrastructure.

Commercial partnerships are advancing this area. In September, Halliburton signed separate agreements with Eneva and WESCA covering development opportunities, field evaluation and technical planning, while SLB signed a framework agreement with PDVSA in June spanning field development, digital technologies and workforce training.

The commercial opportunity extends beyond upstream operations. Companies can explore technology and service partnerships supporting gas processing and transportation, refinery rehabilitation, power generation, grid infrastructure and energy logistics, creating multiple routes for international suppliers and specialist firms to establish a presence in the market and for Venezuelan companies seeking to strengthen their portfolios.

Recent agreements reflect growing momentum in these areas. In September, GE Vernova signed a strategic alliance with PDVSA to rehabilitate electrical infrastructure serving Venezuela’s oil industry. More recently, Baker Hughes partnered with PDVSA, Venezuelan engineering company Lindsayca and Fulcrum LNG to pursue gas processing, transportation and commercialization projects.

Offtake and supply agreements offer another route for strategic participation. Companies can negotiate arrangements linked to specific oil, gas or refined-product assets, while international trading and downstream partners can explore supply relationships connected to Venezuela’s expanding production and processing capacity. Trading companies Vitol and Trafigura have already secured agreements to purchase and market Venezuelan oil, while international refiners are increasingly pursuing direct supply relationships with PDVSA.

The Deal Room will also provide direct access to the institutions shaping project development and commercial activity, including the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, PDVSA and its operating leadership. These relationships can help companies identify counterparties, clarify project requirements and develop commercial frameworks around specific opportunities.

As international activity accelerates across Venezuela’s energy sector, the Deal Room offers companies a focused setting to identify partners and convert market interest into concrete commercial relationships.

International operators, service companies and strategic partners can register to engage as commercial partners at the Venezuela Energy Week 2027 Deal Room. To engage as a commercial partner email info@venezuelaenergyweek.com or visit https://apo-opa.co/4z16kLV for more information.

Chevron’s entry in November 2025 brought a supermajor into Guinea-Bissau’s deepwater for the first time. The company operates Blocks 5B and 6B with a 90% interest in each, while Petroguin holds the remaining 10%. In April 2026, Petroguin formed a joint venture with Tender Oil & Gas covering Blocks 5C and 6C, with plans for new seismic surveys aimed at advancing the acreage toward exploration drilling.

Apus Energy’s Atum-1X well, spudded on the Sinapa license in September 2024 in roughly 890 meters of water, was Guinea-Bissau’s first deepwater exploration well. The project re-opened the country’s offshore acreage and reignited global interest in Guinea-Bissau’s potential as a producer in the MSGBC region. In the two years since, Petroguin has expanded the data available to explorers. On October 15, at African Energy Week in Cape Town, the company signed an agreement with Norwegian geoscience firm TGS to reprocess more than 11,000 km² of 3D seismic data, with final products expected in the fourth quarter of 2027.

Baldé took office in April 2026 after nearly two decades as Secretary General of the Agence de Gestion et de Coopération (AGC), which oversees the maritime zone jointly administered by Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. “As a longstanding participant in this important event, it will be a great pleasure for us to attend once again,” said Minister Baldé.

In Dakar, Minister Baldé and the Petroguin delegation will join Senegal’s government leadership and the international companies now evaluating acreage across the basin. The conference will also host its inaugural Data Room, offering investors direct access to regional acreage, subsurface data and partnership opportunities, as MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 positions Guinea-Bissau’s frontier blocks for global investment.

Organized by Energy Capital & Power (ECP), MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 takes place December 1–3 at the Centre International de Conférences Abdou Diouf in Dakar, under the High Patronage of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and in partnership with Senegal’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. For more information and registration, visit www.MSGBCOilGasandPower.com.

The project won ESG Green Bond Deal of the Year for Africa at the recent Infra Global ESG Awards 2026 in London, while AFC received ESG Green Bond Arranger of the Year for Africa. The double honours recognise the innovation behind the Poro Power transaction and AFC’s role in structuring and mobilising investment for sustainable infrastructure.

Developed by Ivorian entrepreneurs, the 66-megawatt solar plant is under construction in northern Côte d’Ivoire near the city of Korhogo. It is projected to generate approximately 136 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity annually, meeting the needs of more than 100,000 households and benefiting an estimated half a million people.

Beyond providing homes, public services and businesses with reliable power, the project will help Côte d’Ivoire towards meeting its target of increasing renewable energy’s share of electricity generation to 45% by 2030. The Government of Côte d’Ivoire is enabling projects such as Poro Power through its initiative to encourage local private-sector participation in large-scale renewable energy projects, led by the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Energy under Minister Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly.

“These awards are a tremendous recognition for an Ivorian project developed to meet the needs of our own communities,” said Jean-Marc Aie, Chairman and CEO of Poro Power 1 S.A. “Our ambition is not simply to generate clean electricity, but to support businesses, create opportunities and contribute to the development of Côte d’Ivoire. The Ministry’s strategy to empower local private developers to undertake large-scale renewable energy projects, together with AFC’s investment and innovative financing structure, has been instrumental in bringing Poro Power to this stage.”

The €65 million financing package, equivalent to approximately FCFA 42.6 billion, was raised through a green bond — an investment instrument that enables institutions to lend money to projects delivering environmental benefits. It was the first project-finance green bond in both Côte d’Ivoire and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), establishing a precedent for French-speaking West Africa, and was led, structured and fully funded by African institutions. The transaction allowed investors to participate in both euros and CFA francs, making it also Côte d’Ivoire’s first dual-currency green bond. Together, these features demonstrate how African financial institutions can mobilise their own capital for major infrastructure projects, using financing structures suited to African markets.

AFC invested €43 million (approximately FCFA 28.2 billion) in February 2026 and acted as anchor investor, lead underwriter and co-arranger. The equivalent of a further €22 million was raised from African investors, including local and regional banks, pension funds, insurance companies and high-net worth investors.

The bond has a 15-year term, a fixed interest rate of 8.75%, and quarterly repayments following a two-year construction grace period. The financing combines the flexibility of a bond with safeguards normally used in project finance, including first-ranking security, dedicated revenue accounts and contractual protections that separate the project’s cash flows from other activities. These measures help protect investors and align repayments with the plant’s expected revenues.

By bringing together AFC’s investment alongside capital from other African institutions through a structure that accommodates both local and international currencies, the transaction offers a potential model for financing further renewable energy and infrastructure projects across the region. Its significance extends beyond Poro Power, providing a practical example of African money financing African projects and a structure that could be replicated across the continent.

“Poro Power demonstrates that African financial institutions have both the capital and the expertise to finance large-scale renewable energy infrastructure through our own markets,” said Sameh Shenouda, Executive Board Member and Chief Investment Officer of AFC. “By combining the protections required for long-term project finance with the flexibility of capital markets, we have created a structure that can attract a broader range of African investors. This is an important model for mobilising the investment needed to expand reliable electricity supply, support industry and accelerate the energy transition across the region.”

Once operational, the plant is projected to avoid approximately 72,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually — equivalent to taking around 15,600 petrol-powered cars off the road for a year.

The project includes a commitment to allocate €0.01 for every megawatt-hour of electricity generated towards to initiatives intended to benefit local communities.